


Death Valley

by Phantom_of_the_Frost



Series: Alternate Universe - Zombies [1]
Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Amputation, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Character Death, Conditioning, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Gaslighting, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Needs a Hug, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Whump, Hurt Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Manipulation, Near Death Experiences, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Non-Consensual Touching, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Oral Sex, Past Relationship(s), Rape/Non-con Elements, Restraints, Rimming, Rough Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Sexual Coercion, Sexual Violence, Survivor Guilt, Voyeurism, Zombie Apocalypse, viggo is a dick, why is hiccups name so long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:07:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 84,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23501305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantom_of_the_Frost/pseuds/Phantom_of_the_Frost
Summary: It’s been a long time since Hiccup has felt safe. His life ended about three years ago and has continued down a more gruesome path ever since. That horrible day was the day that Hiccup would lose the first person that he cared for, but it was just the beginning of all that Hiccup would lose. But he did gain one thing, one person. And Viggo hasn't let him down so far...~ Hiccup and his friends are in college when a virus is unleashed and tears apart the world. Hiccup and his friends are not doing very well at surviving, and it isn't until Hiccup meets Viggo that he feels safe again, even though Viggo's probably Hiccup's greatest threat.
Relationships: Drago Bludvist/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Viggo Grimborn/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Series: Alternate Universe - Zombies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691056
Comments: 69
Kudos: 61





	1. Death to the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a new series I've finally decided to start that's been dancing around in my head for days!  
> The first chapter is really just a set up for the story I have planned so a TON happens and it's basically Hiccup reflecting on the past 3 years and his slow decision of where he's at in life. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It’s been a long time since Hiccup has felt safe. His life ended about three years ago and has continued down a more gruesome path ever since. 

He still remembers the day that it happened. He was with Astrid and Snotlout, heading to meet with Fishlegs and the twins for lunch when the initial alarm was sounded. It had consumed every television channel and every radio station, and even their phones had been pleading for attention with the insistent ringing and buzzing.

In the end, they had been told to go back to their dorm rooms and wait. They were also told not to try and contact their parents or friends for fear of interfering with people trying to contact police or medical services. Of course, the first thing any of them did was to try and call their parents. Hiccup still remembers the cold dread that filled his stomach when his father didn’t answer. Dread has become quite a normal emotion for Hiccup, but that day was the first day he truly had felt terror. 

His dad has always been there to protect Hiccup, even when he didn’t need or want it, and Hiccup regrets ever taking that safety, that  _ love, _ for granted. That was the day that Hiccup had lost the first person that he cared for, but it was just the beginning of all that Hiccup would lose. 

Instead of following campus protocols, Hiccup and his friends had left in Snotlout’s car to see their parents. They had gone to Hiccup’s house first, only to find a shattered window and barely noticeable movement from inside. 

Hiccup vividly remembers rushing into the house, screaming his father’s name only to stumble into one of the  _ things _ . He remembers grabbing an umbrella from beside the door and almost swinging until he noticed the red beard the thing wore. He saw the familiar boots and the family wedding ring and the reading glasses that Hiccup had to force his father to get. 

What he doesn’t remember is everything that happened afterward. He froze. At least, that’s what Fishlegs had told him after they had managed to drag Hiccup out of the house and put him back in Snotlout’s car. They were almost to Snotlout’s house by the time they were able to pull him out of wherever his head was at. They told him that he froze and that the twins had managed to drag him out of the house. Astrid had apparently…  _ dealt _ with his father, or at least what used to be his father. 

He doesn’t remember the drive to Snotlout’s parents’ house, but he will never forget that thing with the bloody, haunted face that was his  _ father.  _ His dead, or maybe  _ undead _ , father. 

They had made it to Snotlout’s place, but a similar scene awaited them. Unlike Hiccup, Snotlout lived in a neighborhood. A  _ large _ neighborhood. There were far too many of the things to even count, and they were forced out of the city before they could check on the rest of their families.

After his father, Fishlegs was next. It was about seven weeks after the initial outbreak of the virus. They had found an RV park close to a river two towns over from where they lived. Sure, there were dead people they had to clear out of the RV’s, but it was a quiet and reasonably safe place to live. 

They had stayed there for so long they were beginning to believe that they were safe. All there were worried about was the dead and food. They never thought to worry about other survivors. When the armed men showed up, Snotlout and the twins had pushed him out to ‘negotiate’ or ‘talk’ or whatever a leader of a group was supposed to do. But these men didn’t want to negotiate. They wanted the RV park, and they weren’t going to share. 

Hiccup wasn’t quite willing to accept the way humanity had fallen, and he was always the first to argue that people weren’t naturally evil, but he questioned himself that day. The men had assault rifles and shotguns and had forced them out of the RV’s at gunpoint and told them to run. Hiccup had tried to reason with them, that they could share the RV park and would have safety in numbers, and that had cost Fishlegs his life. The biggest of the group had simply raised his weapon and fired. The rapid-fire had startled them all. And they all stood and watched in unison as Fishleg’s fell, dying so suddenly he wasn’t even able to scream. 

After that, they did run. They ran from the men and were about 2 miles away before they all just collapsed, crying and exhausted. That was the second person that Hiccup had lost. 

The third was admittedly one of the hardest to bear. The twins, always so carefree and full of laughter and mischief, had been more than willing to go with Hiccup to explore a nearby town. It was a small place, with only a gas station, a dollar store, an abandoned fruit stand, a church with a bell tower, and a few small homes that were obviously abandoned. 

They had found multiple places to stay but had eventually been pushed out of each area by different groups.  _ Armed  _ groups. They had all accepted the fact that if they didn’t get their hands on a few guns, they would never survive. They had consistently moved further south and always avoided large towns. This town, however, was small and seemed safe. So Hiccup had convinced the group, after watching it for several days, that it was worth the risk. And that they might actually have a bed to sleep on for once in far too long. Hiccup and the twins went ahead to scout, leaving Astrid and Snotlout to watch what little gear they had.

They went to the gas station first and had luckily found a shotgun behind the counter, along with a small box of ammo. Hiccup had figured that Snotlout or Astrid would probably know how to use it and decided it would be best to keep it out of the twin’s hands for now.

After the gas station, they had gone to the dollar store only to find it completely ransacked. There was hardly anything left for them to get. It wasn’t until they made it through the first several homes that Hiccup had even noticed they were being followed. 

That was when Hiccup had met Viggo.

At first, Hiccup hadn’t liked Viggo. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Hiccup hated him. He was smart and impersonal and calculating. He was there to survive, and Hiccup didn’t trust him one bit. In the end, it was the twins that had convinced Hiccup that they couldn’t just leave him to die (Hiccup knew that a man like Viggo wouldn’t die unless it was on his terms). 

It was the same day he met Viggo that he lost both the twins. They had just finished searching the houses looking for anything useful (namely  _ guns _ ) and letting the twins pick out who was going to stay in which house based on how awesome they were when they had heard the first signs that something bad was coming. The sound of moaning from the dead was heard first, before sounds of trees shaking and the ground being trampled under their loping gait. 

The sound had been deafening after several moments, and they had all known that they were about to be caught in a horde. Astrid and Snotlout were safe because they were at least half a mile south of them, and the horde was coming from the east. The horde never even got close to them. 

They had taken shelter in the small stone church, and soon the horde was upon them. The plan had been to simply sit quietly and wait out the horde, but of course, the things had heard or smelled or  _ somehow _ had figured out that they were in the building. And even though the walls of the church were stone, the doors were not. Despite their frantic efforts to barricade the doors, they only seemed to make more noise and draw more things towards them.

The sound of splintering wood as those old church doors finally gave way will always be a horrific sound to Hiccup. The horde pushed in, and it was Viggo who ushered everyone up the stairs and to the bell tower. They climbed up the stairs and could see out of the window just how many things were circling below them and pushing to be inside the church. There had to have been hundreds upon hundreds to be able to block out the view of the ground and the paved streets all but completely. They had engulfed the entire town. 

It was too many moments since they had reached the bell tower that they were being pursued and pushed onto the roof of the church. The twins had looked terrified, and Hiccup assumed he looked much the same. Viggo, however, seemed calm and collected; he was completely in his element. He was the one with the idea to scale the bell tower and to the cross at the very top of the church. The cross was their way of salvation, which looking back, Hiccup could see the irony.

Viggo had led the way, and once he had reached it, turned and pulled Hiccup, who had been struggling a few feet below, up as well. Viggo stood on one side of the cross and pulled Hiccup towards him. The twins were scaling their way up the side of the bell tower, and Hiccup could almost feel content already. They seemed to be just far enough ahead of the horde to safely reach the cross. Sure, then they’d be stranded for god knows how long but they’d be  _ alive _ …

After Ruff and Tuff had reached the top of the bell tower and were holding each other snuggly as they held on the side of the cross opposite of Hiccup and Viggo, Hiccup felt the first signs of victory in a long time. Sure, the things below were now surrounding them and clawing at the stone and trampling one another for a taste of them, but here they were, alive, and now Hiccup could plan their way out. It wasn’t too many seconds after they were all safe before Hiccup was scanning around them, trying to find something they could use. 

He hadn’t even seen it happen. One minute, they were all safe, and the next, Ruff was screaming and falling off the side. Tuff had reached for her and was pulled down right along with her. 

Hiccup had screamed himself hoarse as he watched his two friends being ripped apart less than 10 feet away from him. Hiccup isn’t sure whether he would have gone to join them if Viggo hadn’t been there, holding him back. The man didn’t speak or look sorry or apologetic. He just had a calm, calculating expression.

Hiccup had wanted to believe for a long time that Viggo had pushed Ruff, but there was just no reason for him to have done it. It was hard even for Hiccup to believe, so he never voiced his doubts to the rest of the group even though he made sure to stay as far away from the older man as possible. 

Snotlout had gone down not too long after the twins. After they had outmaneuvered the horde, Hiccup told Viggo about the other two members of his group and that he was going back to them. Although Viggo seemed reluctant and even somewhat  _ annoyed  _ at the prospect of more people, he went willingly to meet back up with Snotlout and Astrid. Hiccup almost wished that Viggo would have refused and gone off on his own. But no, the older man followed Hiccup, and even though Hiccup steadily kept moving away from the older man, Viggo seemed determined to walk directly beside him.

After meeting back up with Hiccup’s friends, they had decided to try for a different town, one that Viggo was familiar with. Viggo offered to lead the way, and so Astrid handed over the map they had dug out of a broken-down car just a few weeks ago. However, they somehow got turned around on their way to a different town and ended up close to a riverbank. They had passed the town altogether with  _ Viggo _ leading the way.

Hiccup remembers yelling at Viggo and screaming that he did it on purpose and was trying to kill them all. Viggo  _ knew _ Hiccup had unfairly blamed him for the twin’s deaths and had looked almost fearful that night. To this day, Hiccup regrets their fight. Not only does Hiccup now know that Viggo would  _ never _ do that. But Hiccup losing his temper and yelling had cost Snotlout his life. 

Hiccup had attracted the attention of several things that were roaming nearby, and with only a shotgun and a few knives they had picked up along the way, they were sorely outnumbered. They had started gathering up their gear as soon as the first noises of moaning and snarling were heard.

They were surrounded rather quickly. Viggo had cleared a way for escape by taking down two things and shoving another away. They had all shouldered through the gap he had created and ran. Hiccup was a lot slower than the rest, but Viggo ran beside him and not where Astrid and Snotlout were, several paces ahead. Viggo grabbed his arm and pulled him along faster until they had caught up with the other two. 

Hiccup didn’t see Snotlout go down either. They were all running, and suddenly, Snotlout fell. Everyone stopped and turned, but Viggo insistently pulled on Hiccup and tried ushering them onward. Hiccup fought to go back for Snotlout, but even as Snotlout tried struggling to his feet, the things were pressing down on him and clawing at his feet. 

Hiccup fought to go back for him up until Snotlout’s first scream and the sight of blood gushing from a bite wound on his shoulder. After the first bite, several more followed until he was being devoured. 

Hiccup might have just stood there and let himself die too, and Astrid almost looked the same, but Viggo was the smart one. He pulled them both away and kept them moving until they were safely far away. He was the one that built them a fire to stay warm and made their camp for the night somewhat defensible. He pulled first Hiccup, then Astrid towards the fire, and sat them close enough so they would keep warm. 

Hiccup remembers that night clearly. It was the last night he had with Astrid. They had been sitting silently at the fire, watching the flames and mourning the death of all those that they had lost when Astrid reached out to hold his hand. Soon, they were cuddled up by the fire, holding one another. 

It was the last time Hiccup had ever held Astrid. 

If Hiccup had been paying attention, he would have noticed the look of disgust on Viggo’s face as Astrid had reached to hold his hand and how that disgust turned to rage when Hiccup had pulled her closer. 

If he had been paying attention, he might have noticed Viggo giving extra attention to the food he was preparing for both Hiccup and Astrid and how smug he seemed after they had both eaten their food. 

  
  


The next morning, Hiccup woke to someone pulling his hair and hands pressing him down. He cried out, and moments later there was a loud crack, and the weight was off of his back. At first, he felt relieved and looked up to meet Viggo’s eyes. The man had just saved his life,  _ again... _ It wasn’t until a few long moments later that he realized that Astrid was nowhere to be found. 

He looked at the thing that had attacked him as it laid face down in the dirt and was torn as he recognized the golden blond hair now matted with blood and the intricate braids that she always wore. He couldn’t hold back the sobs as he reached for her and tried to turn her over. His hands fumbled, but eventually, he got her unto her back. Her face looked gray, and her skin had broken where Viggo had struck her to get her off of Hiccup, but that was all. There were no cuts, no scratches, no  _ bites.  _ She shouldn’t have been dead.  _ How was she dead!?! _

Hiccup knows that the last part of him had broken that day as they dug a shallow grave for her out in the woods. They didn’t have a shovel, but Hiccup used his hands and sticks and spoons and one of their bowls and he had dug and dug until his fingers were bleeding and tears were blurring his vision. He had moved her as gently as possible to lay her in the grave. 

_ She had deserved so much better _ . 

The had both covered her and Viggo packed their belongings as Hiccup just sat at the edge of the grave and thought about what all not only she had lost, but him as well. He had loved Astrid and yet had never told her. Never made the decision to tell her and to try and create something with her, and now he would never be able to.

All he had left in the world was the man that he had hated. The man that showed up, unannounced and had basically taken over their small little group that steadily dwindled in numbers until all that was left was Viggo and Hiccup. 

Hiccup truly believes that he would have sat by Astrid’s grave until he was reunited with her if it hadn’t been for Viggo dragging him away. 

He knows he kicked and screamed and probably attracted every monster within two miles of them, but he didn’t care. He sobbed and begged Viggo to just let him go.  _ To just let him die.  _ But Viggo simply pulled him along until Hiccup was exhausted from struggling. Then Viggo simply scooped him up and carried him. Him and  _ all of their gear _ . Hiccup still wonders why Viggo didn’t just leave him for dead. It would have made the man’s life much easier. Hell, Hiccup would have happily died beside Astrid’s grave. 

It was just so wrong to live when everyone else he had was  _ gone. _

But that wasn’t completely true, was it? He still had Viggo. Even after he had lost everyone and was ready to lay down and die, Viggo was there. Caring for him, making him eat and drink, and tugging him along to find a safer place to stay. 

Hiccup never asked where they were going or what the plan was. He just quietly followed along and stared at the ground. At night, Viggo would set up camp, and Hiccup would just sit and stare ahead. Viggo was the one to entice him into eating and afterward pull him close until he was flush against the older man’s chest as they laid down to sleep. And even though something about it felt  _ odd  _ and  _ wrong _ , Hiccup was much too exhausted and tired of life to muster up the energy to move away or even question the man. Besides, it felt kind of nice, on a more primal level, to be held and to be kept warm, even if it was by someone Hiccup regarded as a stranger. 

Slowly, Hiccup began to feel a little better and began to act more _alive._ He tried to limit the amount of time he spent lost in thoughts and memories that did nothing but make him want to curl up and mourn. He really tried to contribute a little more to their survival, so Viggo wouldn’t have to do it all on his own like he had been doing. And even though it took a long time for Hiccup to learn to smile back at the older man that had been caring for him and keeping him alive when Hiccup was at his lowest point, he _did_ learn. He learned to smile again, and how to laugh and even began conversing with Viggo more freely, not letting Viggo’s words drift aimlessly by but listening and responding how _alive_ people would. 

Even though Hiccup hadn’t fully decided that he wanted to live, to  _ survive,  _ it seemed that Viggo had decided for him and was not going to change his mind. He would force Hiccup to eat and drink and wash his face and hands and would drag him across miles and miles of dense forest in search of a safer place. Viggo was determined that Hiccup would survive and so Hiccup finally gave in and tried to make Viggo’s job just a little easier. 

They traveled almost nonstop, only stopping to sleep at night. They were dangerously low on food, but Viggo had decided that hunting would be a waste of time and that they were  _ almost there _ . Until then, Viggo would tug Hiccup along in whatever direction Viggo decided, and Hiccup would follow. Hiccup didn’t question Viggo, even when he was hungry and sluggish from lack of food, just followed Viggo as he ventured further and further away from where Hiccup’s history was. Hiccup didn’t know where they were going or whether Viggo was leading him somewhere specific, but he didn’t quite mind. Because even though Hiccup had thought he would never feel safe again after the loss of his friends and his family, he sure felt close at nights when Viggo would pull him close and wrap his arms around Hiccup, helping to keep out the chill from outside. 

So that’s where they were, Viggo would lead. And Hiccup would follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Please leave a comment with your opinion or if you see any errors in the story!
> 
> ~PudgyBucky


	2. The First Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had originally planned to finish this and upload it Sunday, a week after posting the first chapter. However, I got my first comment today and it spurred me into wanting to finish today!
> 
> Honestly, this is much longer than I intended. I decided to not only have Hiccup's POV, but added Viggo's as well! And let's just say Viggo had a lot more to say than I had thought!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

When Hiccup blinked his eyes open, he saw the thick canopy of trees overhead, the early rays of the sun shining through. It would be so easy to see this world as beautiful if one didn’t know the atrocities that it held. He rolled over, only to find an empty spot where Viggo slept last night. The spot wasn’t even warm. 

Hiccup sighed and pulled himself into a sitting position. Viggo had been doing this almost every morning. He would leave before Hiccup woke, leaving him _ alone  _ and  _ asleep _ and easy food for any dead thing that walked by. Then, he would return later with food or water and act as if nothing was wrong, as if he hadn’t just abandoned Hiccup without a word and with the silent expectation for Hiccup to sit and wait for him to return like a dog. 

Hiccup was starting to get  _ seriously  _ sick of Viggo. It was a slow build over the course of the few months they had spent together. At first, Viggo was nothing more than a dangerous asshole, and then he wormed his way into being the asshole that always seemed to be in  _ just _ the right place at  _ just  _ the right time to keep Hiccup safe. It’s been on more than one occasion where Hiccup wakes up because one of the dead  _ things _ had stumbled upon him while he was on the ground asleep. Of course, Viggo, who always wakes up earlier than Hiccup (if he even goes to sleep at all), seems to be just around the corner and there in time to prevent Hiccup from actually being hurt, just terrified.

Hiccup couldn’t help but sigh again at the thought. He felt weak and like he was just dragging Viggo down, sometimes. Even if the older man has never hinted at such a thing, Hiccup could still tell that he was pretty dependant on the other man for survival. Hiccup picked up a small branch that was lying on the ground nearby and began to trace different pictures into the dirt like he usually did while waiting for Viggo to return. 

After Hiccup had lost everything, or at least every _ one _ , he didn’t quite care whether or not Viggo was dangerous. He stopped being suspicious of the older man and, instead, surrendered. Even if just a little. He stopped pondering whether Viggo sometimes set Hiccup up in dangerous situations simply so Viggo could rush in and save him, and instead just thanked the man when he did save him.

Losing his small family was hard, and he knows he didn’t handle it very well. He wouldn’t be alive without Viggo, and as much as he wanted to hate that fact, it’s true. He knows that now. He had broken after he lost the remaining people from his past, and Viggo was there to pick up the pieces. So, for a long time, he just numbly followed Viggo, not questioning or asking for anything.

At first, when they started their trek to who-the-fuck-knows, he didn’t care about walking from sunup to sundown and eating cold shitty rations out of a can. He didn’t quite mind going to sleep curled up together for warmth simply because Viggo insisted that it would be a waste of time building a fire when they were only resting a few measly hours before leaving in the morning. He had followed Viggo around willingly and put himself through the hell of stumbling across the country on worn-out shoes and a half-empty stomach, all while feeling numb and empty from his loss.

He  _ did _ , however, mind that they’d been doing this bordering on two months, and Hiccup was  _ tired.  _ Hiccup had decided that the emptiness he felt wouldn’t be going away anytime soon, but that he still needed to make a decision. Did he want to survive? 

Hiccup thought that he  _ did, _ actually. It was somewhat difficult for him to accept, and he felt sort of guilty for wanting to live even though none of the people he’s loved would be able to live with him. Hiccup was startled out of his sour train of thoughts when a teardrop fell and made the nose Hiccup had drawn of Tuffnut look much,  _ much  _ bigger. Hiccup couldn’t help the smile that stretched his face at the sight. Even when dead, his best friends could still somehow cheer him up. 

Yeah, Hiccup did think that he wanted to survive. His friends wouldn’t want him dead. And if their positions were reversed, Hiccup knew he would want his friends to survive. So, Hiccup needed to start trying to survive… start pulling his own weight and helping plan so he could survive and maybe live  _ for _ his friends.

Strategically, what he and Viggo were doing was plain stupid. Not only were they dangerously low on rations to still be pushing it this hard, but even if they did still have the rations, Hiccup was sick of eating fucking  _ beans _ out of a can, and honestly, they had already lost a  _ ton _ of weight, and Hiccup hadn’t had much to spare, to begin with. A single can of beans just wasn’t cutting it for a meal anymore. He wanted  _ food.  _

If he  _ was _ going to survive, and  _ God _ s did Viggo seem determined that they would both survive and make it to wherever the  _ fuck _ Viggo thinks they are heading, he at least wants a say in his future. For starters, it didn’t make any sense that they weren’t setting up a camp and living from there. Instead of venturing across the damn country, they should be planting food and  _ hunting _ , so that they could have real meat and not whatever the fuck Manwich was _. _

Currently, they were getting by on pure luck that they would keep finding food in gas stations and abandoned homes while traveling to some unknown place that Viggo wouldn’t tell Hiccup about no matter how many times he questioned. They were getting lucky that they were only running across a hand full of the undead things at a time and that they haven’t been overrun while they’ve been asleep. Not only that, but his feet were blistered and bleeding from the sheer distance they’ve covered day in and day out for the past two months. 

Overall, Hiccup was tired of being treated like a child. Hiccup had half-heartedly tried asking questions in the past, even though he hadn’t quite cared where they went. He had even tried being a little bit helpful, even just to ease his guilt about being deadweight on their little duo. But Viggo seemed to want Hiccup to simply wake up, not speak, and follow after him like a lost fucking dog. 

So, today, Hiccup decided that no matter what, he wasn’t going anywhere. Viggo was going to tell him where the hell they were going, and then Hiccup was going to figure out a better way to get them there. Since Viggo was weirdly obsessed with getting wherever the hell they were going, Hiccup didn’t see the point in wasting time trying to change his mind. He did, however, think that there had to be a smarter and safer way to get there then by fucking  _ walking. _

Hiccup must have looked as upset and irritated as he felt, because when Viggo strode back into their makeshift campsite, he seemed to pause and take in a fuming Hiccup sitting on their bedroll and instead of commenting, simply sat down beside Hiccup and handed him the canteen of water he had apparently filled.

“I thought it would be wise to rest today. Perhaps try and find more rations before continuing.” Viggo tilted the canteen of water towards Hiccup, and Hiccup tried to both glare and drink water, but he figured the glare lost its intended effect. After Hiccup drank, Viggo took the canteen back and drank some of his own. “It would be wise to scout the town near us for more supplies since we are staying for another night.” He didn’t look at Hiccup while he said this, but Hiccup was staring intently at the side of Viggo’s face. 

“There’s a town near us? Where? How many towns have we passed?!” Hiccup started to get to his feet, but Viggo set a hand on his knee, and somehow, that seemed enough to anchor Hiccup back to the ground.

“None, my dear. This one is slightly out of the way, but we do need the supplies. Don’t you agree?” The older man kept his hand on Hiccup’s knee and seemed to be studying his face. Viggo was searching for something in Hiccup’s face, his gaze piercing through Hiccup’s own.

“Well, yeah. We do need more supplies.” Hiccup paused, thinking of how best to challenge Viggo without giving the asshole a chance to turn it around or avoid it. “I’m just saying. If you let me  _ look _ at the map that was once  _ my _ friends, then maybe I would  _ know _ that there’s a town nearby and wouldn’t be kept in the dark about where the hell we’re  _ at _ or wherever you think we’re  _ going _ !” Hiccup tried to maintain eye contact with Viggo to let him know that  _ he was serious _ , but with the older staring through him so intently, Hiccup finally had to look away, back to the dirt at his feet where he had sketched out a few of his friends’ faces.

Viggo hadn’t outright  _ said _ that he didn’t want Hiccup looking at the map, but he had religiously kept it on his person and steered the few conversations they did have away from the map whenever Hiccup tried to ask. 

“Is that all? You just wanted to look at the map?” Viggo sighed dramatically, as if dealing with Hiccup was exhausting, before reaching into the brown leather jacket they had scavenged and pulled the wrinkled map out of an inside pocket. 

“What? N-no. I-” Hiccup paused, wondering how the hell Viggo thought this was all about a stupid map. He didn’t miss how Viggo had tucked the map back into his jacket immediately after Hiccup said no as if that would prevent Hiccup from asking again. Was he intentionally trying to belittle Hiccup’s concerns? Or better yet, trying to make him feel silly for wanting what Hiccup considers as common decency? 

“No, I don’t just want the map. I-” Hiccup pulled his legs to his chest and tried to think of how to word the million other things he wanted to say without sounding like the petulant child Viggo always seemed to paint him as. “I want to know where we’re going and why we’re going there.” There. Straight-forward and direct. How the hell would Viggo manage to avoid answering him now without sounding like an ass?

“My dear, I’ve already told you all that you need to know.” Viggo’s voice left no room for questions and was quite obviously warning Hiccup to not push the matter, but Hiccup could care less.  _ He wanted answers. _

“Which is  _ nothing. You’ve _ told me  _ nothing _ .” Hiccup waited for Viggo to answer, but when he didn’t, Hiccup decided he’d had enough of being strung along on this weird and obsessive road trip. “Fine. If you won’t tell me where you’re planning on taking me, then I’m not going.” Hiccup stood up and went to grab his bag filled with a few measly possessions (Viggo kept most of the useful stuff in  _ his _ bag), but Viggo caught his hand. 

“Oh, and where do you think you’ll  _ go _ ? You won’t survive a day without me, Hiccup.” Viggo’s grip was painfully strong, and Hiccup tried in vain to tug his wrist free as Viggo simply chuckled. “Hell, you’d already be dead if you hadn’t have met me.” Viggo’s voice was harsh as he released Hiccup. “But please, if you want to wander off on your own to die like your friends, then be my guest.” 

Hiccup wasn’t typically a violent person, but he doesn’t regret striking Viggo. And Hiccup had to admit that the sound of Hiccup’s open palm connecting with Viggo’s face was intensely satisfying. “Don’t speak about my friends. They- they were  _ good _ people, and they didn’t deserve-” Hiccup was interrupted as Viggo shot to his feet and wrapped his large hand around Hiccup’s throat, pressing him against the nearest tree.

“Oh, my dear Hiccup. You’re right.” Viggo looked absolutely livid, and Hiccup grasped desperately at the hand pinning him to the tree by the throat. “But they’re  _ dead _ , and you’re not.” Viggo’s hand tightened, not yet cutting off Hiccup’s air, but the threat was obvious. “Well, not yet. I’d personally prefer you intact upon arrival, so please refrain from your pathetic and childish acts, such as what you just did. Believe me,” Viggo pulled Hiccup closer by the throat, “I will not tolerate such behavior again.” 

Viggo released him after shoving him back into the tree, and before Hiccup fully got back to his feet, he was lunging at Viggo. This seemed to take the older man by surprise, and Hiccup managed to knock them both the ground. They rolled in the dirt for several seconds, Hiccup trying desperately to cause as much damage as possible, and Viggo trying just as desperately to restrain him, before finally, Viggo succeeded in pinning a very angry and thrashing Hiccup below him. 

Hiccup tried to shake Viggo off, but was pleased, nonetheless, to see the blood pouring from where Hiccup had managed to scratch him on the older man’s neck. “You can’t keep dragging me across the fucking country and expect me to just  _ trust _ wherever you’re taking us!” Hiccup shouted, glaring at the man above him whose face had contorted into one of fury.

Hiccup could feel Viggo’s hands pressing bruises into his shoulder as the older man tried to keep him from thrashing. There was no  _ way  _ Viggo was going to get away with keeping Hiccup in the dark and constantly making him feel like a child.

“You’re such a  _ child,  _ Hiccup. Do you not realize that I have taken care of you hand and foot for the past several months while you were determined to let your self-pity kill you! I’ve been keeping  _ you _ alive, my dear. And what have you done? Hmm?” Hiccup’s struggles died down as Viggo spoke, and Viggo continued. “You’ve been nothing but a deadweight for me to carry, but have I complained? No. I’ve kept you alive. I’ve told you that we’re going somewhere safe, and you find some reason to not only question me but  _ fight _ me about it?” Viggo loosened his hold on Hiccup, but still straddled him, his weight alone still pinning Hiccup to the ground.

“I-I’ve… I’ve tried to help. I-I want to. I want you to tell me your plan, and I want to help.” Hiccup felt his eyes watering and he none-to gently let his head drop hard unto the ground and he closed his eyes. “I want to live. And I-I don’t want you treating me like dead weight. I  _ can _ help-” Hiccup’s words were stuck in his throat as he felt the same hands that were wrapped around his throat and squeezing dangerously tight now gently stroke down the side of his face.

Hiccup opened his eyes and tilted his head up to look at the older man on top of him. “Wha-?” Hiccup’s eyebrows were scrunched as he looked up to the older man in confusion.

Viggo stroked down his face one last time before standing and then offering Hiccup a hand and pulling him to his feet. 

“Alright, my dear. Well, you can start helping by packing up. We’ll be heading to town soon.” After saying this, Viggo simply turned and sat at the base of a tree, looking over the map as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. 

Hiccup paused, before rushing to pack up their meager supplies. Town meant food and Hiccup sincerely hoped that not only would they get a decent meal, but that Viggo would be willing to talk with him on the way about where they were heading and hell, even if Viggo didn’t, Hiccup would at least be able to guess where they were at once they reached the town. 

After Hiccup had packed and slung his bag over his shoulder before handing Viggo his pack, Hiccup looked back at their little campsite, noting sadly that the sketch of his friends (well, all but Astrid) was messed up from their earlier dispute.

Hiccup redistributed the weight of his backpack, so it rested more comfortably on his back, before turning towards Viggo, who oddly had a smile on his face. Hiccup smiled back for a second, and as Viggo turned and headed off towards the town, Hiccup followed along after him.

  
  


Viggo was disappointed in himself at just how  _ badly _ he overestimated Hiccup. He had assumed that Hiccup would be nothing more than a foolish child drowning in grief and utterly compliant for at least a few more weeks. 

The change was so quick that there’s no way Viggo could have predicted it. That very night, he had told Hiccup a short and fake story about his own father, and as expected, Hiccup had gotten lost in the swirl of his own thoughts about his very much dead father. This meant that Viggo got to enjoy the sounds of an upset Hiccup trying to cry as quietly as possible while Viggo just pulled him flush to his own body so he could feel the younger boys tremors. 

That night Viggo thought for sure that Hiccup wouldn’t be capable of more than just trailing after him and perhaps engaging in a conversation for a few minutes. Hiccup had been so  _ obedient _ and easily allowed himself to be pushed and pulled in whatever direction Viggo wished. However, when Viggo had returned to their campsite this morning, he had been introduced to an entirely  _ new _ Hiccup. And while this was quite fascinating, it was also confusing. 

Viggo had steadily been playing off of Hiccup’s loss of family and trying the manipulate the child into being wholly dependent on him, in every sense of the word. He simply started leaving Hiccup in the mornings so that he would wake up alone. A few times, he would bait one of the undead into following him back to their campsite and lead the thing straight to Hiccup. 

He was careful about not being seen or responding  _ too _ quickly. Hiccup was by no means stupid. However, it was good for Hiccup’s conditioning to desire Viggo be with him. Viggo would swoop in just as terror set in on Hiccup’s face and rescue him. There was a slow but gradual shift from Hiccup being angry with him for leaving in the first place to now simply thanking him and allowing the older man to worry over him and search him for injury. Admittedly, even after Hiccup had stopped being too effected from these events, Viggo still held Hiccup close afterward, and the boy never complained, so Viggo would continue. 

He had assumed it would take at least two more weeks of Hiccup waking up alone and feeling vulnerable before Viggo returned with good things such as food, water, or sometimes even odd things he scavenged off of bodies of the unfortunate before Hiccup snapped and demanded not to be left alone. He didn’t expect that Hiccup snapping would bring forth the flood of emotions that it did. 

The young boy sitting on the ground at their campsite seemed angry enough that he’d try and fight a strong wind, and Viggo knew he needed to handle the situation carefully. At the end of the day, Viggo would win as long as Hiccup remained at his side. 

Viggo had walked and sat by his companion before offering him water. Even through whatever this was, Viggo was determined to continue Hiccup’s training. When Viggo was gone, Hiccup needed to know that he was vulnerable. When he was present, Hiccup would be provided for.

Viggo had initially tried to de-escalate the situation by offering a day of rest, but that apparently hadn’t been enough for the young man. He was pleased, however, when hiccup was angered by the notion of him not being aware of a town’s presence, that all it took was Viggo’s hand to press lightly against his thigh to anchor Hiccup. Viggo loved that such a simple action already had Hiccup instantly obedient. 

From there on, Viggo was then dragged through the paces of trying to deflect Hiccup’s ignorant questions without surrendering more than Viggo was willing to share. It was quite easy to manipulate the younger child simply by reading Hiccup’s face. He was utterly unable to hide his emotions as they were always expressed plainly on his young face. 

He was especially pleased when Hiccup, even after ranting about wanting to know where they were going, was unable to hold his eyes and looked to the ground in a small display of submission. The ground, that housed every person in Hiccup’s life except for the lovely Astrid… It thrilled Viggo that Hiccup couldn’t think of her without seeing the undead thing that had attempted to kill him all those months ago. Slipping rat poison in that poor girl’s food was probably the easiest thing he’s done for Hiccup yet. The hardest would be training him to be just  _ perfect _ for Viggo, but Viggo assumed that would be his favorite part by far.

Viggo now needed to teach Hiccup that he would only need to know what Viggo decided to tell him. Everything else was none of his concern. That, however, would require breaking Hiccup’s independence a bit, and Viggo knew Hiccup wasn’t quite ready. He had planned on calming Hiccup down and easing him back into the sweet and soft boy that usually just stared blankly ahead and did as he was told. 

The newer, more angry Hiccup was disconcerting, to say the least. He enjoyed being able to handle Hiccup by facilitating controlled conversations and guiding his emotions into whatever Viggo wanted. Whether that was wanting to listen to Hiccup’s soft crying and see his tears, or to see a small, awkward smile on the young boy’s handsome face, Viggo knew just how to work Hiccup to get the desired results. 

This new version of Hiccup, however, seemed determined to anger Viggo in every way he knew how and was far from the Hiccup that simply submitted simply because he was too full of grief to fight. 

Viggo reached his limit was once Hiccup threatened to leave and not follow him to their destination. Hiccup  _ needed _ to be reminded of his place, instantly. He was alive simply because Viggo had willed it. Just as he had sized up the others in Hiccup’s sad little group and deemed them as nothing more than competition for Hiccup’s attention and then determined to dispose of them quickly. 

Viggo had tried to gently put Hiccup back where he belonged, crying and numb, with a few harsh words that he knew would cut deep. However, when Hiccup had responded by striking him, Viggo had seen red. Once he slammed Hiccup’s lithe body against the tree, Viggo tightened his grip around the boy’s throat. He was tempted to simply take the boy roughly right there,  _ prove _ to him  _ exactly _ where his place was. He was also tempted in that moment to simply cut off Hiccup’s supply of air. To watch as the boy’s face turned from a pretty red to the dangerous purple before he would finally succumb to unconsciousness. My, wouldn’t that have been a pretty sight? 

He could have simply dragged Hiccup’s limp body wherever he wished, such as he should be able to. It certainly would have been enough to warrant more respect, or maybe fear, but Viggo didn’t mind, from Hiccup. The young boy would, if he was as intelligent as Viggo truly hoped, be much more cautious around him and wouldn’t dare act out in violence towards him ever again. 

Perhaps that is what Viggo should have done, but instead, he decided to give Hiccup a warning and  _ my _ , didn’t that end poorly? Hiccup had seen that he had gotten away with one act of violence and immediately pushed forwards to a second, more grave, act. Viggo would need to remember to correct Hiccup much quicker and harsher in the future to prevent bad habits and the thinking that he could get away with such poor behavior. 

As it was, Viggo had attempted to cut into Hiccup with his words, wanting Hiccup to hurt and realize his mistake before Viggo would punish him physically. He looked at the fresh bruises blossoming on the boy’s pale throat and wondered just how well his rear would bruise with a good punishment. However, Viggo was pleased to see Hiccup responding sweetly to just his words, even if that meant Viggo would have to save Hiccup’s first punishment for a different day. After Hiccup’s soft pleas that he could help and be useful, Viggo finally understood. 

His Hiccup wasn’t upset for any other reason than that he felt useless, and well, that’s exactly what Viggo wanted. Although he didn’t expect such a  _ violent _ reaction from his boy, he now knows  _ why.  _ Hiccup is responding to his conditioning. He feels vulnerable and useless, and instead of internalizing it, he’s shifting the anger unto Viggo. Oh… Viggo could use this. 

He was fascinated has he watched Hiccup’s eyes water in frustration, and almost told him to open them again after he had closed them, just so he could see the pain lying beneath them. Instead, the older man simply reached forward and caressed the face of the person that he’s planning on having by his side for as long as he can manage. When Hiccup’s green eyes fluttered open to meet his own, Viggo was tempted, yet again, to just take his prize right then on the ground, but he had already decided that he would wait until they were truly safe before engaging in such acts. 

He would hate to be interrupted during his first time taking Hiccup apart and ripping as much pleasure from him as possible by something as mundane as the  _ undead _ .

Instead, he climbed off of his companion and helped him to his feet. If Hiccup wanted to be useful, Viggo would utilize him. Oh… Viggo would utilize Hiccup in every way possible very soon. But first, Viggo would need to extract as much information form Hiccup’s head on the way to the town as possible. He needed to see  _ exactly _ what changed from this morning to now if he were to accurately predict Hiccup’s behavior enough to continue to keep him under control for the long journey that they still had ahead. 

If Viggo wanted to properly turn Hiccup into that companion that he craved, then he would need to understand Hiccup more than the child even understood himself. As Hiccup handed him his pack full of the tools they would need to survive, Viggo couldn’t help but watch as the child turned around to stare at where they laid together. Maybe Hiccup was reflecting on what had just transpired between them. If that were the case, then Hiccup’s next facial expression would be important. Would the young man be upset and angry? Or would he feel as if he just accomplished something for himself? 

But surely it couldn’t be that easy. Hiccup should know that he hadn’t really accomplished much of anything if one were to base it off of his original goals. He still doesn’t know where they’re at, where they’re going, hasn’t seen the map, and still hasn’t gained a single piece of information or guarantee for better treatment int he future. He simply offered more of himself to Viggo. Hiccup want’s to be good for Viggo and feel useful. Viggo struggled to keep a grin off of his face until he confirmed whether or not Hiccup was resentful or bitter, or thought that he had truly gained something.

When Hiccup turned around, Viggo couldn’t help the grin that lit his face at the child’s expression. Hiccup seemed calm and accepting. He must think that something in their dynamics has truly changed. And, in a  _ small _ way, it has. Viggo now knows not to underestimate Hiccup, he was more complex than what Viggo had originally assumed, although still completely vulnerable to Viggo’s conditioning. 

He also knows now that any mistake Hiccup makes must be corrected instantly and harshly, or it would be committed again. However, if the child thought he had somehow shown Viggo the ‘errors of his ways’ and thought that Viggo would suddenly let Hiccup know of all the plans Viggo has for the two of them, then he was more ignorant than Viggo thought. But perhaps Viggo could continue to misdirect the poor child into thinking he was gaining something while keeping him away from his original goals.

Although Hiccup would be more difficult to tame than Viggo had initially assumed, the older man couldn’t wait to find out just how much Hiccup would be able to resist him. Hiccup, while burdened with grief, was much too exhausted to rebel against Viggo, and hadn’t even raised a single complaint. For some reason, Hiccup had broken today, and he released with him a flood of emotions. Although unexpected, Viggo liked to think that this was their first step in Hiccup’s  _ true _ conditioning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading!
> 
> I plan to update at least once every week by Sunday, so see you for chapter 3 soon!
> 
> Your comments make my day, and I hope to hear what you think about this chapter!


	3. New Kid in Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn. This thing is MUCH longer than anticipated. This will basically double the length of the story so far. 
> 
> Also, I added another Viggo POV simply because he's too interesting of a character not to. I imagine his POV will be quite common in the chapters.
> 
> I believe this is my 3rd chapter in a week... Congratulations to me!! It just shows how much time I spend doing what I want to do during quarantine instead of the college work I'm supposed to be doing :(
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!

The walk to town felt a little like an interrogation, and not the kind that Hiccup had wanted. Instead of learning about where they were headed or where they were currently at, the conversation was turned into Hiccup answering Viggo’s every question. Every time Hiccup would try and sneak in a question, Viggo would always somehow manage to worm his way out of it and redirect a different question towards Hiccup. Hiccup had to admit that the older man would have made a great politician. 

Finally, Hiccup gave up their small battle that was  _ supposed _ to have been just a simple conversation and allowed the man to pester him with questions. 

_ Where did you grow up, Hiccup? _

_ Why did your parents name you Hiccup, my dear? _

_ What did you like to do before all of this? _

_ What college did you go to? Did you get into your first pick? _

_ What were you majoring in at college?  _

_ Were you in the ‘gifted’ or advanced school programs when you were a child? _

_ What’s your favorite alcoholic beverage? _

Hiccup finally couldn’t help but snap at the older man and his intrusive questions when Viggo asked what type of porn he used to watch before society fell to shambles. 

Viggo had simply chuckled and put his hand on the small of Hiccup’s back to usher him forward. Hiccup obliged and led the way, simply just to get a short breather from Viggo’s overwhelming presence. He ducked under a low hanging branch and pushed another out of the way, passing by it before releasing it. He was rewarded with a loud  _ whack!  _ and the sound of Viggo huffing in irritation. He couldn’t help but glance back to look at the expression on the older man’s face.

“Sorry,” he mumbled before turning quickly around to hide his grin. Finally, the trees began to get thinner, and they exited the densely packed forest. There was an old road with abandoned cars lining it, a few of the undead either stuck in the cars or ambling aimlessly down the road. Viggo grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards the treeline, but Hiccup was straining his head to try and make out what the reflective green sign standing proudly on the side of the road said. 

“Hey! We’re almost there!” Hiccup exclaimed as he finally made out the sign. “We’re only three miles away.” He said this part much softer after catching Viggo’s warning glare. 

“Sometimes, I wonder how you were still alive by the time I found you. Do you not see the dead wandering past? Are you trying to get their attention?” Viggo whispered this directly into Hiccup’s ear while pulling him further in the tree line. Hiccup noticed that a few of the dead  _ had _ spotted them and were slowly making their way towards them. “Now look what you’ve done. C’mon, we’ll walk alongside the road in the trees. I imagine it will also be cooler walking under their shade.” Viggo tugged at his arm, and Hiccup went, somewhat embarrassed at attracting the undead. It’s not like he would be able to take down more than one or two at a time; most of the fighting would be left to Viggo, who had the bigger weapons and, y’ know, the bigger  _ everything _ . 

Hiccup glanced down at himself, saddened to see that he magically wasn’t big and strong. In fact, he was starting to look a little sickly after not having eaten well for far too long. 

“Gods, I can almost taste something that’s  _ not  _ out of a can.” Hiccup tried to remind himself to stay quiet, but it was hard. The more he thought of the town, the more the excitement grew. He was ready to see something other than trees and dirt. “Do you think there will be a vacant house where we can stay for a few days? Or maybe there will be people that can help us-” Hiccup smiled at the thought of maybe finding  _ more _ people so it wouldn’t just be him and Viggo when the older man interrupted him.

“Hiccup, my dear. I wouldn’t recommend getting your hopes up.” Viggo gave him a sideways glance, keeping his own voice calm and quiet before forging ahead, beckoning Hiccup to follow. 

“For one,” the older man said, “if there  _ are _ any people there, we won’t be entering. Any people that do live there will be nothing but hostile.” Hiccup couldn’t help but huff an annoyed sigh, which earned him a warning glance from Viggo. “As I was saying, any person that lives in the town will be desperate to defend it and to keep us out. So we won’t be picking a fight. We’ll just try a different town. People are nothing but danger in a time like this, and we are severely underprepared. With only the single shotgun you managed to find, it’s best that we avoid trouble, don’t you think?” 

When Hiccup didn’t immediately answer and just kept walking, his hands tucked in his pockets, head down and a scowl on his face, Viggo grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop, forcing the younger man to meet his eye. “Hiccup? Do you understand?” 

Hiccup raised his head to glare at Viggo, but he knew the glare was pointless. He wasn’t even angry at Viggo, just frustrated because he  _ knew _ Viggo was right. He tried and failed to stop himself from rolling his eyes, and to keep himself from crossing his arms like a child, he grabbed on to his backpack straps. Still, he owed Viggo a response. “Yeah, I understand.” Hiccup paused but decided it was okay to be a little more open with the older man. “It sucks, though, y’ know? For people to suddenly be so… feral.” Hiccup glanced back at Viggo for confirmation, but the man simply tsked and turned to face the creatures that had caught up with them.

There were only four of them, so Hiccup started walking at an angle, waving his hands to get their attention. Two of them noticed and started their agonizingly slow gait towards him. He waited for them to gain some ground, watching as Viggo took down the one closest to him. The older man then took a few steps back and glanced at before disposing of his last dead thing. 

God, Hiccup really needed to figure out a name for these damned things.

He pulled out his own hunting knife and stepped towards the first of the two creatures. He quickly took the thing down, feeling sick at the sound of the squelch as the knife sunk hilt deep into the rotten flesh. He promptly stepped back and withdrew his knife so the body could fall. He then glanced towards the second creature and did the same thing to that one.

After they had regrouped and started heading back towards the town, Viggo finally spoke. “Hiccup, dear, have you had negative experiences with people since…  _ it _ all begun? Is that why you called them feral?” Viggo glanced over to him, but Hiccup couldn’t meet his eye. 

“Um, yeah. My friend Fishlegs was killed by some assholes with assault rifles just a few weeks into it.” Hiccup kept his head tucked carefully down, trying to hide his face from Viggo, but he knew the older man was staring. “They wanted our home, and so they took it. Killed him just to prove a point. We were just a bunch of dumb kids who couldn’t possibly have been a threat to them.” For some reason, maybe shame, Hiccup didn’t want to share the fact that the men had told them to go, but Hiccup had wanted to compromise and negotiate. He tried to be the peacekeeper, and by doing that cost his best friend his life. 

He sighed but didn’t want to get too caught up in the memory, so he continued. “Since then, every time me n’ my friends had settled somewhere, someone else would come and push us out.” Hiccup kicked a rock that was on the road, eyebrows knitting together at the disturbing memories. So many people that could have helped them instead chose to steal their shelter and supplies and run them off. He remembers stitching Snotlout’s arm after a particularly nasty group had shot fucking  _ arrows _ at them to chase them away from their shelter. 

“Ah, so you  _ do _ understand the hostility of those trying to defend their territory? It’s a tragedy, really, but it’s why we must hurry to reach our true destination. It is a safe place with safe people.” Hiccup could  _ feel _ Viggo’s dark eyes on him as he said this, almost as if the older man was challenging him to ask about where Viggo was taking them.

Hiccup wouldn’t rise to the bait now because Viggo would be ready to defend against his questions. Instead, Hiccup made a mental note to question the man later and focused on their travel to the unknown town.

God, he hoped they had some food. Beef jerky would be nice.

  
  


The town was… well, disappointing. They had a small gas station in front of what Hiccup assumed used to be a grocery store, but that was about it. There were several buildings that were probably abandoned  _ before _ the undead took over, as well as a few small homes that lined the rundown road they were on. 

“This is the town? I’m surprised it even made it on the map.” Hiccup took in his surroundings and tried not to let the disappointment show on his face.

“Well, if we had gone anywhere larger, it would have been more populated. There would have been a higher chance of running into people, and it would have most likely already been ransacked anyways,” Viggo stated as he strode ahead toward the grocery store.

Hiccup followed and swallowed his complaint that he kind of  _ wanted _ to find more people, despite Viggo pointing out that it would be stupid and risky. Gods, Hiccup wanted to hate the man even though he knew the man was right. Still, though, he didn’t want it to just be him and Viggo forever. Well, Viggo  _ had _ mentioned that wherever he was taking them had ‘good people’.

“Yeah, that’s smart,” Hiccup conceded in an effort to butter the older man up so that he might be willing to share more information with him. “So the people you’re taking us to, do you trust them?” Even though he had thought to start with a question as simple as this wouldn’t be problematic, Viggo stopped anyways, turning to face him, a challenge alight in his eyes. 

“You don’t trust me, Hiccup?” Viggo’s voice was mocking, and Hiccup scowled despite his face already burning in what he  _ swore _ wasn’t embarrassment. “Do you think that after how much I’ve protected you from, that it would make any sense for me to drag you across the country just to lead you to your death?” Viggo stated while stepping closer to him, voice irritated and sharp. Hiccup fought to hold his ground and tried desperately to word his next statement very carefully. 

“Well, I-uh… No, I don’t- think that you’d… I just-” Hiccup huffed and glared at Viggo despite the heat in his face, irritated at how the conversation had turned. “It was just a simple question. You could have just answered.” Hiccup shoved past Viggo, angrily huffing as he continued on to the grocery store. 

HIccup was brought out of his brooding as he heard a loud bark followed by a low growl. He turned, scanning all around him in search of the cause of the noise. 

Then, his eyes fell upon a gray, ragged mutt hiding under a car parked outside of an ugly green home, and Hiccup couldn’t contain his smile at the dog. He slung his bag off his shoulder and unto the ground before approaching the dog. 

“Hey, pupper. How ya doin’?” Hiccup lowered himself a little and reached a tentative hand out towards the dog as he made his way across the street towards the frightened animal. 

“Hiccup! What are you doing? Leave that mangy thing alone!” Viggo’s voice was both scared and angry as he tried to grab for him, but Hiccup ducked away and hurried across to the dog. 

The dog growled, baring his teeth, but Hiccup shushed him gently and continued forward, keeping his voice low. “Hey, little man. You’re people around? You look like you’re all alone.” 

Hiccup scooted closer until he was beside the truck that the dog had retreated under. He lowered his head to look under the vehicle and saw the dog, ears flat against his head, his whole body tense as if he were preparing to run. Hiccup shushed the dog again, before offering a smile and backing away to give him space.

“Once me and my friend search that store, I’ll bring something out for you, okay? I should at least be able to find some water or something. Okay? I’ll be back,” Hiccup stated in a soft voice as he turned to go back to a fuming Viggo. 

Hiccup wordlessly picked up his bag and continued on to the store. They didn’t make it far before Viggo spoke, obviously angry at the younger man.

“That was stupid and reckless. The thing looked  _ diseased _ with its disgusting matted fur! If you’d been bitten you-” Viggo growled before being interrupted when Hiccup turned on his heel to face the older man. 

“Listen, first, it’s not a  _ thing _ , it’s a dog. Somebody’s pet. And you,” Hiccup poked the older man in the chest before continuing, “are not my dad, and you barely even fucking know me.” Hiccup met Viggo’s dark eyes even as the older man looked murderous at being spoken down to. “Sure, we’re stuck together in all of this, but you need to stop telling me what I can and can’t do. You’re already taking me to some mysterious place with mysterious people,” Hiccup waved his hands, gesturing wildly in the air mockingly, “and refusing to answer any questions, you can at least lay off of me until we fucking get there.” With that, Hiccup turned, and they finished their short walk to the grocery store in silence.

  
  


After Hiccup’s little ‘outburst,’ Viggo wanted nothing more than to tie Hiccup down and gut the stupid mutt in front of him. He was curious to see whether Hiccup’s mouth would still have the same venom in it afterward. Instead, he tried to calm himself down and allow Hiccup the small victory. Of course, the boy would suffer for it later, but Viggo had to be careful not to run the youth off before they arrived at the place Viggo intended. 

Once at his brother’s house, Ryker and his friends would be more than enough of a threat to keep Hiccup stuck to Viggo’s side, but until then, Viggo didn’t need to run Hiccup off. Everything would be much easier once they got to Ryker’s place. It would be a haven for them. Even if his brother and his friends were dead, it would still be an excellent shelter. It would be especially useful because once there, Hiccup would not be too willing to leave. Then, Viggo could do what he pleased to the boy. That was, however, if they even managed to survive long enough to get there. 

As they entered the filthy grocery store, they wordlessly separated to search the different aisles. Hopefully, Hiccup wouldn’t run into any trouble. So far, the town seemed deserted other than that mangy thing outside, but Viggo wasn’t naive enough to judge the safety of the town based on only a few peaceful minutes.

The truth was, Viggo was tired. He loved trying to out-think Hiccup, to confuse and manipulate the boy until he was so frustrated his cheeks reddened, and those beautiful emerald eyes watered. But Viggo had to restrain himself quite a bit simply because if Hiccup decided to leave, Viggo wouldn’t be able to safely get them both to Ryker’s home. He was struggling already with a willing Hiccup. It would make their trip ten times as difficult if Hiccup fought him.

Everything would be fixed once they were there. Hell, then he could just chain the boy up and not have to worry one bit about the emotions that seemed to run rampant behind those eyes. He wouldn’t have to contain the comments he  _ wanted _ to make at the boy’s antics. It would be heaven just to be able to fill the boy’s mouth properly instead of listening to him complain, or god-forbid  _ challenge _ him as he did earlier. Viggo could almost feel himself growing hard at the notion. 

Soon, Hiccup would be all his. Until then, he needed the boy’s cooperation.

Perhaps he needed something to placate the boy, distract him slightly, to try and keep their uneasy peace. He walked the first few aisles, grabbing whatever was left food-wise and shoving it in his mostly empty backpack. Of course, most there was almost nothing left on the shelves, just the odd dented can. He ensured to grab a few dish towels as well, in case they needed bandages. 

As he exited the end of the aisle to turn down the next, he saw Hiccup looking at a jar of what Viggo assumed was pickled pig’s feet before the youth made a sour and disgusted face. The older man tried to hide his chuckle and quickly ducked down the next aisle. 

This appeared to be an arts and crafts section of the store, and Viggo couldn’t help but wonder whether Hiccup would benefit from a journal or perhaps a sketchbook? He seemed to draw in the dirt every spare chance he got. Viggo picked up a dusty leather-bound journal, wiping off the cover and flipping through a few empty pages before depositing the book into his backpack. 

He decided to grab a few packs of mechanical pencils as well as some colored pencils. He thought long and hard about grabbing paint and paintbrushes but decided they would be too heavy to carry for such a long journey. He offhandedly wondered about trying to acquire a vehicle to help them cover such a long distance, but he was fearful of traveling so loudly, and the off chance that they would be trapped in the car was mildly horrifying.

Hiccup had repeatedly been hinting that he was tired of walking and thought they needed a faster method, but Viggo refused, knowing he was irrationally fearful of becoming trapped in such a small space. This would be especially if they were trapped because a horde of the dead was blocking them in. There was little to be done in such a situation. What could one do? The dead were… well,  _ dead.  _ They never had to sleep or eat and could spend the rest of their dead lives clawing to get into the car, whereas anyone in the car would be forced to simply wait to die of dehydration.

Viggo had to physically shake the thought from his mind. Maybe it was something that he shouldn’t really worry about. Surely this wouldn’t be able to happen unless the car broke down or ran out of fuel. There were precautions one could take to avoid this.

Besides, it might be best if they did travel by vehicle for awhile. At least then maybe Hiccup could put on a little more weight since he wouldn’t be walking dozens of miles a day. They would also be able to carry more gear,  _ and _ they would get to Ryker’s in just a few days. With the decision made, Viggo shakily reached out and grabbed several different paints, including some tablets that turned to paint when mixed with water, along with several packs of brushes before tucking them all carefully away. If they were getting a car, he might as well get Hiccup some damned entertainment so he wouldn’t complain the entire way.

He scanned the shelves, seeing if there was anything else that might appease Hiccup, but Viggo found it was getting slightly harder to breathe. He turned to leave the aisle, reaching a hand out to balance himself on one of the shelves. He closed his eyes and fought to compose himself. Hiccup would  _ not _ see him like this and especially when he couldn’t even explain why he was behaving this way.

It was only a car. It would be more comfortable and most likely safer to travel that way. It would benefit Hiccup, too. It would give them both rest and they would be able to carry much more gear and supplies. On the off chance they  _ were _ swarmed, it would be better for them to be in the car with a barrier between them and the undead than if they were on their own, anyways. 

It was the logical decision, and so it would happen. With that, Viggo pushed off of the aisle he had been using for support, sucking down several deep breaths before exiting the aisle almost to run smack into the auburn-haired boy that had managed to worm his way into Viggo’s thoughts since the first moment Viggo had spotted them. 

“You find anything?” Hiccup seemed normal, and his voice was calm and even, if still a little pissed off from his earlier tantrum, so Viggo assumed (hoped) that Hiccup hadn’t witnessed his weak moment from just a few seconds ago.

“Yes, in fact, I found something for you.” Viggo kept his voice calm and his hands steady as he shrugged his backpack off, unzipping it to show the various paints and brushes and pencils that he had hand-picked for the youth as he reached in and pulled out the leather-bound journal. He handed the journal to Hiccup and watched as a soft smile broke out across the young boy’s face as he ran his fingers over the cover of the journal. 

“Whoa, thanks.” Hiccup’s voice was much softer, too, with no trace of the anger from earlier. 

_ He’s too easy _ , Viggo thought, before forcibly rejecting the idea and instead looked back into the emerald eyes trained carefully on him. He watched in fascination as those same eyes drifted down to where Viggo still held his bag open to take in all of the other things Viggo had picked up for him.

“A-are you sure? This is an awful lot to carry,” Hiccup said as he reached in and shifted through the multitude of paints. He didn’t seem to be complaining, though, and instead seemed more concerned that Viggo would change his mind.

“I-I’ve been thinking about that as well,” Viggo internally cursed himself at the slight stutter. He needed to be nothing but strong and confident, even if only for Hiccup’s benefit. Hiccup needed to know that Viggo was completely capable of successfully getting them to his brother’s house. The youth already doubted Viggo, and he needed desperately to prove to Hiccup that Viggo was his best, no, his  _ only _ shot at survival.

“I have decided,” Viggo started, ensuring his words were calm and confident, “we’re going to need a vehicle, especially if we do find more gear. Besides, I’m sure you won’t complain about not having to walk.” Viggo leaned towards the younger boy, eyebrows raised, but the youth simply nodded, not looking at Viggo and, instead, deep in thought. 

“Okay, that’s smart. We’ll need a car that’s not too low to the ground and one that’s good on gas, big enough for supplies and to store gas jugs so won’t run out. We’ll need to siphon the gas from the other cars to take with us too. It’d be safest if we found some tools, in case we break down. Maybe even fashion something to protect the grill of the car in case we have to run over those dead things. Wouldn’t want any, um, roadkill to get stuck in the grill. It’d need to be firm, metal would work, but where would we find-” Hiccup trailed off, still deep in thought, and Viggo smiled, feeling for once safer with the idea of being in a vehicle. 

Hiccup had told him earlier that he was in school for mechanical engineering, and that his father’s friend had let him work at his mechanic shop since Hiccup was twelve. Maybe this would finally allow Hiccup to feel like he was truly contributing to their duo.

“Well, we’ll need to check around for some car supplies, maybe in some of the houses, I didn’t see any on the aisles I checked. I did find a few odd food items, though, so that’s good. Oh! Before we start looking, I wanna do something,” Hiccup said as he gave a slight smile but then shrugged his bag off and set it on the ground. 

“Where are you going?” Viggo questioned as the younger boy jogged back through the store and darted down an aisle. He reappeared a few moments later, dragging two massive bags of dog food. 

“Will you help me carry these to the dog? Please?” Hiccup pulled the bags over to him, and Viggo, although slightly irritated that the boy’s thoughts were still on that mutt, simply nodded and, after setting his own backpack down, hefted one of the bags over his shoulder before following his boy out of the store. 

Hiccup led him back over to the mangy dog before setting his own bag down and splitting it down the middle with his hunting knife. Viggo did the same. Then, he set back and watched as Hiccup scooped a handful of the dried food before scooting back to where the dog was still cowering under the truck.

“Hey, bud. Remember me?” Hiccup slowly offered the hand cupping dog food, and Viggo watched, curious, as the small creature leaned forward, sniffing at the hand, and then the food before carefully nibbling some of the food. “That’s it. I’m not going to hurt you.” Hiccup lowered his hand to the ground and let the dog finish what he had before scooting backward and motioning for the dog to follow. 

“It’s okay, c’mon.” Hiccup motioned again for the dog to come out, and surprisingly, the dog did. Not only that, the dog’s tail was wagging slightly, despite how miserable of a condition he must be in. Now that Viggo could see the dog clearly, he noticed the dog had an injured back leg. The mutt had limped towards the smiling auburn-haired boy and was licking his hand. 

Viggo leaned closer to the mutt, and could now clearly see the large chunk of flesh missing from the dog’s hind leg. There were human, or at least what used to be human, teeth marks surrounding the injury that must have been days old. “Hiccup, get away from that thing.” Viggo wasn’t sure whether dogs could get the… virus, or  _ whatever _ , was causing humans to die and become those rotting, walking corpses, but he wasn’t going to risk it. Even if the dog couldn’t turn, he may still be able to transmit it to Hiccup. 

When the youth simply looked at Viggo with a confused expression, Viggo spoke again: “ _ Now _ , Hiccup. Please.” 

At this, the boy looked more scared than confused but obediently backed away. He went to Viggo, and as the older man pointed Hiccup’s attention to the injured back leg, the mutt simply limped towards the food and began to eat. 

“We-we have to help him. He- it’s rotting. W-we need to amputate it.” Hiccup’s voice was shaking, but Viggo didn’t look. He didn’t care to see the tears in the boy’s eyes. He kept all of his focus on the potential threat in front of them.

“No. I think it’s too late for him, dear.” Viggo reached to put a hand on Hiccup’s shoulder, but the boy turned, shoving his hand away and raising his voice.

“No! W-we  _ have _ to-” Viggo looked at Hiccup’s watery yet furious eyes now, and couldn’t even make himself be upset about Hiccup’s bad behavior.

“Dear, the rot has probably already infected the thin-... the  _ dog.  _ I think if we amputate his leg, we’ll only cause him more pain. Besides, there’s little way we’d be able to amputate without that getting infected as well.” Viggo reached for Hiccup again, and this time, he didn’t pull away. Hiccup had a look of defeat written across his face, and for some reason, Viggo didn’t like it. 

Viggo  _ enjoyed _ tearing at people until they broke and fell to pieces at his feet. He liked building them back into what he wanted them to be even more. But for some reason, Viggo didn’t like the look on the auburn-haired boy. Maybe it was because he wasn’t responsible for it. Hiccup should look like that when he was on his knees, looking up at  _ Viggo _ . He needed to wipe that look off of the boy’s face. It should be reserved for  _ him. _ “I’m sorry, dear. At least he met you. You’ve been kind to him. He’ll be cared for until he passes.” Hiccup seemed a little better, but not by much, and Viggo decided to simply distract him with work, “Now c’mon Hiccup. We don’t have many hours of light left.” He turned and pulled Hiccup with him, guiding them towards the nearest house. 

“Maybe we should visit him again before we leave, huh?” Viggo said. Surely this would cheer Hiccup up. The strange boy that drew pictures of his dead friends and fed abandoned animals and mourned their imminent deaths…

Hiccup was somewhat of an enigma, and Viggo couldn’t wait until he really got a chance to break the boy open and figure out what makes Hiccup…  _ Hiccup. _

Tramp, the dog, was a sad sight to see. Don’t ask Hiccup about the name, the dog looked  _ just  _ like the Tramp from  _ Lady and the Tramp _ , and besides, it’s not like the poor dog cared. Even though he had little to no future, the dog still wagged his tail as he ate and had even  _ thanked _ Hiccup by licking his hand. 

After Viggo had started to lead him towards the house, he glanced back at Tramp just to see the dog watching him leave, somewhat confused. It really hurt Hiccup to abandon the poor dog, but Viggo was right. There was nothing they could do. Maybe Hiccup could slow down their search of the houses, and they could stay for a few days. At least then, Hiccup could make Tramp as comfortable as possible in his final hours. 

That had been the plan, to slow Viggo down in searching the houses, but the man was on a mission. The sun was barely starting to dip, and they had cleared through three of the seven houses. Everything they had chosen to keep was loaded carefully into a large black truck they had luckily found the keys for in the ugly greenhouse that probably belonged to Tramp’s owners. 

“Viggo? Can we take a break?” Hiccup knew the answer before he asked, and as he had for the several other times Hiccup had asked, Viggo refused. 

“As I said before, we’ll be nothing but resting once we’re on the road. Now c’mon these people have a garage. Go find those tools you need for the truck and fetch some more of those totes that were in the last house’s attic.” Viggo suggested before loading another clear tote that was filled with canned food into the back of the truck.

Honestly, they were doing great. The store had been ransacked, but it’s like the people in the houses had been the ones to loot it. So far, they had two  _ entire _ totes full of food, and Hiccup had been systematically ransacking each house of their paper towels and toilet paper, determined to never go without it again. Those commodities were also packed into a tote in the back of the truck. They were, however, running out of space in the truck. It would be good if they could securely stack the totes without having to fear losing them in case they end up off-road or in a bad situation. 

Hiccup obediently retrieved several more totes, feeling somewhat guilty for dumping their contents unto the floor. After dragging the totes near the truck, he wandered to the garage as Viggo had asked and was pleased to find three gas cans that were, admittedly, mostly empty, but still, it would be good to be able to transport gas with them. He also found a decently stocked toolbox and even a tackle box. Sure, Hiccup didn’t see any fishing poles, but those couldn’t be too hard to make, right? He put the tackle box with the other stuff he wanted to keep before heading to the small door that he assumed led to a storage room in the garage. 

He could have cried when he opened it. Not only were there fishing poles, but there was a massive shelf lined with nothing but tools. Hiccup dragged a couple of fishing poles out, setting them in his little pile before going back, almost giddy, to look through the tools. 

After he had finished clearing the garage, he strode proudly back to the truck. Viggo had apparently moved onto the next house, but that was okay. Hiccup loaded up the tools he had chosen, deciding to leave the fishing gear and other odd things he picked up to let Viggo pick through. They shouldn’t weigh themselves down too much. 

However, Hiccup  _ had _ managed to find them a way to make more space. He proudly picked up one of the ratchet straps he had found and continued to stack the totes side by side, turning their four totes into only taking up the space of two. He strapped them securely in place, leaving the other straps to be used for whatever else they found. They were probably going to have to stay another night anyway. They still had three and a half houses, and the sun was only a thumbnail’s length from dipping behind the trees.

He was almost skipping by the time he reached the next house to join Viggo. Things were actually going really well. They had food, transportation, and  _ supplies.  _ He had a lopsided grin on his face as he pushed open the door and stepped into the dark house. 

The first thing that hit him was the smell. He couldn’t help but to gag and almost screamed as two large hands grabbed him by the shoulders. The hands weren’t clawing at him or pulling him towards rotting flesh and teeth. Instead, they were pushing him out of the house. 

“It’s okay, Hiccup. I don’t want you searching this house, okay?” Viggo turned him away from the house and was rubbing his back. He must still look like he was going to vomit. The older man must have noticed the gas cans, because then he suggested, “Why don’t you go siphon the gas from the other cars for me, hm?”

Hiccup simply nodded and headed off to do his new task. A part of him was embarrassed about his reaction, but the larger part didn’t want to see whatever was hiding in the house. Were their corpses walking around in the house when Viggo got there? God, Viggo could have fucking died and been  _ turned, _ and Hiccup would have been fawning over tools and damn fishing poles. 

Hiccup scowled as he cut through a water hose attached to the house that had the nice garage to use it as a siphon. After dutifully filling all three jugs, filling the truck to the brim with the jugs, and then filling the jugs again, he decided to venture back towards the house Viggo was in.

Surely the man was alright, right? Hiccup had only been gone for maybe a half-hour. He carefully passed the pile of goods Viggo had acquired and entered the house, more prepared this time, and headed towards where he heard movement. Viggo must almost be done. He seemed to be halfheartedly sorting through food, deciding what was usable and what wasn’t.

Hiccup stayed quiet, not wanting to distract the man but watching the man still, not quite ready to look at the other inhabitants of the room. Viggo was sweating, and he looked tired, but there he was, still working madly to ensure their survival. Hiccup felt a stab of guilt. There he was intentionally trying to slow their progress all for the sake of comforting a dying dog when Viggo was, yet again, bearing the hardest tasks and doing the most work. Viggo was ransacking a house filled with the dead family, while Hiccup was allowed to goof off and sort through tools. 

Maybe Viggo would stop treating Hiccup like a child when Hiccup stopped acting like one. 

Determined, Hiccup knelt down next to Viggo and got to work. The older man paused in his work, before clapping Hiccup on the shoulder and turning his attention back to his task. After they had finished that house and loaded all of their supplies, Hiccup returned to see the family. He needed to see it. He needed to get over it. People died. Lots of people have, including almost everyone he knew. He needed to grow up a bit and realize the severity of their situation. He walked back to the kitchen where the small family sat, their corpses balanced precariously in the chairs. 

One corpse had strings of blond hair and was wearing a dress. Hiccup assumed this was the mother. She sat at the head of the table, clutching a note in her bony, decayed hand. Hiccup peeled the letter from her hand, but then Viggo was there, taking it from him.

“Are you… punishing yourself, Hiccup? I don’t think you need to see this.” Viggo’s voice was uncharacteristically gentle, and so for once, Hiccup didn’t respond to him in anger.

“Then read it for me.” Hiccup’s eyes drifted from the mother to the two smaller corpses that he could only assume were her children.

There were several moments of silence before Viggo spoke.

“It says that she didn’t want her children to suffer the same fate their father had.” He then set the note back down unto the table and pulled a small handgun from the back of his pants. “This was on the floor of the kitchen when I first arrived. She shot her children and then herself.” Viggo tucked the gun back into his pants, and Hiccup just nodded. 

He turned to exit, for once, grabbing Viggo and pulling the older man with him. 

They cleared the next three houses silently and efficiently. The sun was just dipping below the sky, leaving them in almost complete darkness, as Hiccup finished strapping the last of the totes in.

Viggo had decided to keep the fishing equipment, assuring Hiccup that it was a great find. They decided to keep the machete and the oil from the garage but left the shovel. Viggo clapped Hiccup on the back again once Hiccup showed him the plastic baggie filled with some sort of putty that, according to the packaging, could plug small holes in tires. 

Hiccup felt pretty accomplished after they loaded the truck and hid it behind the house. They locked the doors to the black vehicle before headed into the house attached to the garage to rest for the night. Even though the house blocked out the wind, and it was a pretty warm night, Hiccup didn’t question when Viggo pulled them both into the master suite. He helped push the furniture around until the window was covered by a tall dresser, and the door was blocked by the TV stand. 

After feeling confident in the security of their little home, Hiccup kicked off his shoes, peeled off his smelly socks and crawled under the covers, content to feel the presence of the other man beside him. Viggo would keep him safe. They’d make it to where Viggo wanted to go, and then they’d be safe. 

They were going to make it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha! Now that this monster of a chapter is done with! (TBH I've already written the beginning of the fourth. Please stop me. I have essays due...)
> 
> Let me know where you think the stories going! We're only maybe two chapters away from Ryker's house, and that's where shit is really going to go down.
> 
> Hope you guys stay safe! See you for the next chapter


	4. Reality Check

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, do I have a long chapter for you guys. A whopping 9k that I choose to stay up until 4 am yesterday just so I could get it all down.  
> Thankfully, I didn't publish it yesterday and gave myself time to get rid of the ridiculous amount of errors and typos. 
> 
> WARNING!!! This would be the first chapter that contains non/con.  
> If this will bother you, I have updated the tags. However, the tags will contain spoilers as well. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Hiccup woke up, feeling warm and content. He was  _ extremely _ comfortable, surrounded by warmth and softness. His arm was slung over something warm, and he snuggled closer, burying his face further into the pillows. It wasn’t until that ‘something warm’ moved did Hiccup truly wake up enough to become aware of his surroundings. He was cuddled up to Viggo, but the other man seemed to still be asleep. 

Hiccup carefully retracted the arm that had been slung over the man, mumbling angrily about having to disturb his comfort, as he carefully shifted away. He mourned the loss of heat as he moved further away until he was lying on a much colder part of the bed. He huffed, burying his face into the mattress, already missing the warmth of the pillow he had probably stolen from Viggo sometime in the night. 

It wasn’t too many more moments of Hiccup trying to fall back asleep before the man behind him stirred. Hiccup wasn’t sure whether the man was still asleep, but he didn’t question when the man rolled over and wrapped a large arm around his waist.

Hiccup couldn’t help but shift back oh so slightly towards the warmth and was almost instantly back into a sleepy haze. Although feeling the other man’s breath ghost over the back of his neck tickled, it wasn’t anything he hadn’t dealt with the numerous nights they huddled together for what little warmth they could produce during their months together. 

Now, however, they didn’t have to be sleeping in the same bed or share warmth. Hell, Hiccup could have slept in an entirely different house if he had wanted to. So why was he here? In bed with Viggo? Habit? Safety?

Still, he didn’t pull away, instead closing his eyes and relaxing into the embrace. He allowed himself to drift back into unconsciousness, matching his breaths to the steady rise and fall of the chest behind him.

By morning, Hiccup felt well-rested and content to stay in bed forever. He reached out, happy to find that Viggo was still in bed as well. It was probably the first time the older man hadn’t left him to wake up alone on the ground. He rolled over, expecting to see the older man still asleep, but instead, found him sitting up and paging through a book, reading glasses balanced on his nose. 

Hiccup tried his best to contain his laughter. He really did. If a small giggle escaped before he clamped his hand over his mouth, then sue him.

“Is something funny, my dear?” Viggo asked as Hiccup tried and failed to stifle his laughter. He really didn’t intend to offend the man and was happy to see Viggo fighting a grin of his own. 

Hiccup shook his head no, then reached up to push the reading glasses higher up the man’s nose. Hiccup busted out laughing again as Viggo swatted at him before pulling the glasses off.

“S-so, what are you reading?” Hiccup said, finally quieting down his laughter and stretching out on the bed. He couldn’t help but notice the scar on the man’s neck. The scar that  _ Hiccup _ had given him. Guilt tried to gnaw its way into Hiccup’s mind, but he pushed it aside. He had done that because Viggo wouldn’t tell him where they were going. He still won’t, so why should he feel bad for the man? Hiccup was pulled out of his inner debate when Viggo replied.

“It’s some dystopian novel with a lead female. Probably meant for teenagers.” Viggo said while turning a page.

After Hiccup stretched, he sat up and went to tilt the book up so he could see the title, but stopped short when he saw just how far Viggo had gotten.

“What the hell? You’re like halfway through it!” Hiccup tried not to sound too surprised, but honestly, the man must have been reading for  _ hours _ . “How long have you been awake?”

“Not too terribly long.” Viggo snapped the book shut and turned his attention to Hiccup. “Are you ready to leave?” 

Hiccup nodded and then swung outta bed.

Viggo walked over to the dresser blocking the door and rummaged through the drawers before reappearing with clean, fresh clothes. The older man dressed in a warm, red, short-sleeve T-shirt that boasted some sort of tractor and a fresh pair of blue jeans that were just a tad too long on him. Hiccup couldn’t help but picture him in a straw hat and barefoot as well. 

Viggo offered Hiccup a change of clothes too, but Hiccup knew if the pants were big on Viggo, they’d drown him. And he didn’t really want to die because he was being chased by a zombie and tripped over his comically oversized pants. 

“Um, I think I’m going to go see if these people had a son. And we should probably grab several different pairs of clothes too; I didn’t think about that yesterday.” Hiccup headed to the door, and Viggo followed, helping him move the obstacle blocking the door.

“Alright, I’ll grab a few changes of clothes here and meet you in the truck?” After Hiccup nodded his agreement, Viggo began rummaging through the drawers in search of more clothes.

Luckily, these people  _ did _ have a son, but unluckily, the son was very… dark. Hiccup tried to find jeans that didn’t have rips in them and finally succeeded with dark black jeans with chains. He set those aside and looked for a clean pair of undies to change into. Hiccup grabbed several pairs and changed into some, thankful to ditch the ones he’s been suffering in for the past several weeks.  _ Eww.  _

He then tugged the jeans on and grabbed a white undershirt to pair with it. He grabbed several more T-shirts and tossed them on the floor with the underwear he had chosen to take with him before moving unto shoes. It would feel amazing to wear something that wasn’t as worn out as what he’d been wearing. 

Perhaps these people’s son being gothic, or emo, or whatever he was, wasn’t such a bad thing. He had quite the selection of combat boots. There were bright red ones, purple ones, and two black ones and some that seemed far too spikey to be comfortable. After putting on some socks and snagging several more to take with him, Hiccup grabbed the two black pairs, tugging one set on. Happy with his selections, he shoved them all in a black leather bag and lugged his new haul down the stairs. 

As he made his way out of the house, he spotted Viggo by the truck, loading his own changes of clothes in the backseat. There were several corpses lying on the ground that hadn’t been there before, as well as some specks of blood on Viggo’s skin. 

“You okay?” Hiccup asked as he walked up to the older man and began to load the clothes he had gotten in the truck as well.

“Yes, of course.” Viggo turned to face him and gave a low chuckle. “Well, Hiccup, I must say the chains were a tad unexpected,” Viggo said as he tugged on said chain.

Hiccup grinned and turned to poke Viggo in the chest. He then retorted, “Yeah? Too bad not all of us can wear tractors on our shirts.” This seemed to drop Viggo down a peg, and the man simply pushed Hiccup towards the truck, grumbling under his breath.

Hiccup got in, but Viggo didn’t. Instead of following, Hiccup instead cranked the truck, moaning in absolute bliss as the air conditioning activated. He leaned as close to the vent as he could and breathed in the fresh, cold air. He can’t believe he ever took something as simple as cool air for granted. Upon further inspection, he noted that the truck even had heated seats _.  _ After pressing the button to activate them, Hiccup settled back into his seat, feeling rather human. With air conditioning, heated seats, a fresh change of clothes,  _ and _ being able to ride around in a vehicle instead of walking… well, he felt rather spoiled. 

Viggo returned a few moments later with more clothes in hand. “One of the last houses had a son. I grabbed you a couple more things,” Viggo said, shoving the clothes in the back and sliding into the driver's seat. As the truck was thrown in reverse, and they turned to leave the town, Hiccup gasped, shooting straight up and tugging on the door handle to the truck.

“Wait! I forgot about Tramp! I wanna see him one last time!” Hiccup exclaimed while trying to exit the moving vehicle. Before he could, Viggo grabbed him and pulled him back into his seat.

“Alright!” Viggo sighed, and after making sure Hiccup wasn’t going to attempt to leave the truck again, continued. “It seems to have slipped my mind, as well. I’ll turn around and head back.” As Viggo turned the truck around to head towards the ugly greenhouse that used to belong to Tramp, Hiccup spotted them. 

Several black, scavenging vultures were circling in the sky before dipping down lower. 

Hiccup braced himself, ready to fight off the vultures and get Tramp somewhere safer and more peaceful, up until Viggo pulled the truck closer, giving Hiccup a better view. His stomach turned cold as he saw bits and pieces of flesh scattered around the pickup truck Tramp had been hiding under just the night before. 

When Hiccup didn’t make to leave the truck, Viggo blared the horn, and the vultures took to the air for a few seconds, just long enough to confirm that it was Tramp they were feasting on. The dog must have either died last night from his injury or gotten attacked again. Maybe the birds are what killed him. Hiccup stared at the scene for several seconds, only pulled out of his trance when he felt Viggo’s large hand squeeze his shoulder. He simply nodded towards the man in return, and then they were off. 

  
  


Viggo tried to keep a calm demeanor while driving, but it was difficult. He hadn’t slept a wink last night, too anxious about today. He did, however, manage to calm himself and at least  _ rest _ when Hiccup had flopped over unto him, smacking him in the face and then continuing to drool on him for the better part of the night. It was quite calming to have the boy depending on him even in sleep. But Hiccup was no longer cuddled up to him, mumbling softly in his sleep and drooling, and so Viggo’s anxieties continued to eat at him.

Driving was difficult for many reasons. The roads were troublesome to navigate, and they had to go off of the road more than once in the short amount of time they had been on the road. They were lucky Hiccup had found the straps to secure their load. 

Not only were the roads blocked by cars and downed bodies and fallen trees, but the noise of the truck drew the attention of every dead thing in the area, which thankfully wasn’t an overwhelming amount. 

He had to run over several of them, but he tried to avoid them if he could. Luckily Hiccup seemed completely unaware of how Viggo’s hands shook and how the dread filled him more and more with every rotten corpse that they passed. Viggo’s focus was entirely on keeping his breathing calm and relaxed so as not to appear as anything other than completely capable in front of Hiccup. Yes, his hands were sweaty and shaky, and he felt nauseous anytime he thought of the possibility of becoming trapped, but so long as Hiccup didn’t notice, he was alright.

The boy seemed far too distracted to notice much of anything. They hadn’t been on the road for ten minutes before he was fiddling with the radio, ensuring to press _every._ _single._ _button._ in the vehicle before he admitted defeat and sat back in his chair, pouting like a child. 

“We didn’t bring any CD’s,” Hiccup said, while leaning back in his heated seat, air conditioning blasting, and a bag full of the art supplies Viggo had gotten specifically to entertain the damned brat sitting on the passenger floorboard. God, Viggo would need to beat the brattiness out of the boy before he was ruined for good.

Although, it  _ was _ much easier to focus on being irritated at Hiccup than the fact that they could be trapped in this vehicle at any second if they were to get caught in a horde. Not only that, but they hadn’t planned ahead enough to put the totes of food in the vehicle with them. No, if they were trapped, they would simply have to suffice with  _ looking _ at the food through the rearview window. 

That thought alone made Viggo want to pull the truck over to rearrange their supplies, but he was too nervous to pull over because then the ten or so dead would encase them and their noise would attract more and-... no. They wouldn’t be pulling over. 

Viggo rapped his fingers along the steering wheel, wanting nothing more than to pull his hair out. He might feel better if he could pull over and take his frustration out on Hiccup, but he couldn’t even do  _ that _ . 

Well, maybe now that he has the truck keys and all of their supplies loaded into it, Hiccup would be smarter than to leave. Even if he did fight, Viggo could simply tie him up, toss him in the backseat, and watch the kid struggle through the rearview mirror the entire ride. Now that would be a sight. 

Honestly, he might do it if it weren’t for him having to pull over and risk the small fact that Hiccup would distract him, and then they’d be stranded. No, Viggo was never putting himself in that situation again.

Instead, he tried to think back and remember this morning in an effort to calm himself. He rather enjoyed Hiccup being comfortable enough around him to tease him. He may want to stretch that out a day or two more before finally snapping and ravishing the poor boy. He’s positive that once Hiccup is broken in, his demeanor will change, and he doubts the boy will be comfortable around him for quite some time. 

As it is, though, he may just tie the youth up anyways simply to keep him from pressing each and every button in the truck just for entertainment. 

Hiccup leaned forward again, trying to click through the static of the radio channels.

“Can you stop that?!” Viggo finally snapped, glaring at the younger man for several moments before putting his attention back on the road. He swerved them around a car, crushing a downed body on the road with a sick  _ squelch! _

“Yeah,” Hiccup leaned back away from the buttons and pulled his legs to his chest. “Sorry. A-are you okay? You seem kinda tense.” 

Viggo could feel Hiccup’s eyes on him, and it both filled him with rage and made him want to vomit. All he wanted was to train Hiccup  _ properly _ . And that meant being his sole source of comfort and protection. His means for  _ survival.  _ Hiccup should never see him in a weak moment such as this, and it angered him very much that he was unable to control himself enough to mask his fear. Just as he was about to snap and lash out at the younger man, he noticed Hiccup digging into Viggo’s bag. 

Viggo almost reprimanded him for going through his things when he saw Hiccup pull out his leather journal and a pack of mechanical pencils. 

“Hey, wanna play a game? I’m going to try and draw something in like, I don’t know, maybe like a minute? And then you try and guess it after I’m done!” Viggo heard as Hiccup opened the packaging for the mechanical pencils, and listened as the boy flipped to a random page in his journal. “Y-you don’t have to play, it’s just a stupid game, but I figure we’re gonna be on the road a lot, so…” 

After a long stretch of silence, Viggo turned to look and saw Hiccup rubbing the corner of his journal, glaring at it as if it personally offended him, or maybe as if he felt bad because Viggo hadn’t responded to his offer of a game. Maybe playing Hiccup’s game would help Viggo keep his mind off of what may happen in their near future. 

“What will I win if I guess correctly? Are we making a bet?” Viggo said, trying to sound arrogant, as if he knew he was going to win, and slightly suggestive as well. Wouldn't it be just grand for the boy to offer himself on a silver platter?

“Hmm, maybe like,” Hiccup paused, sticking the end of his pencil on the edge of his mouth as he looked out the window, deep in thought. “Maybe whoever wins gets to eat the m&ms I found in that lady’s purse?”

Viggo wasn’t the biggest fan of chocolate, and he’d much rather be able to hand feed the candy to Hiccup instead, but he didn’t voice his requests. 

“I don’t much like chocolate. You can have them,” Viggo said, turning to see Hiccup smile at him.

“Really? You sure? Because there were originally two packs in her purse, but I already ate the other one,” the boy said, looking rather guilty as he admitted this. 

Viggo couldn’t help but to laugh. His boy had a sweet tooth. He’d have to remember that. “I’m sure, my dear. How about if I win, you have to tell me an embarrassing story about yourself?” 

“Huh? Uh, yeah, sure. That works.” Hiccup glanced out the window again. “Okay, so two outta three. And you’ll have five seconds to guess once you see the picture. Ready? Go!” Hiccup seemed rather excited as he started sketching wildly over the page, glancing at the truck’s clock every few seconds to see if the digital number had changed. 

Viggo swerved them off the road, avoiding a car crash, and had to work his way through the wet mud to get them back on the pavement. Apparently, he had disturbed Hiccup’s drawing, because his brat was complaining rather loudly about it moments after.

Viggo glanced at the clock, noting that a minute had passed. “Time’s up, Hiccup.” 

Hiccup huffed a laugh and turned his sketch around. “I did my best, I swear.”

Viggo turned his head to look, but honestly couldn’t quite tell what it was. It looked like a cat/reptile/bat, but with no teeth. It looked both terrifying and cute, and Viggo had no clue what it was. “I feel like you’re making this difficult on purpose,” he muttered, slowing the truck to a stop so he could get a better look. After several more moments of looking, he still had no clue what it was.

“Time’s up! You didn’t get it.” Hiccup seemed smug as he pulled his sketchbook back towards himself, adding a few more details to his picture. 

“Well, what was it?” Viggo asked as he pressed the gas to start their trek once more.

“You really couldn’t tell? It’s a lizard! A smiling lizard! Or, at least it was until you made me mess up, which kinda gave it wings. So now it’s a dragon.” Hiccup held up his sketchbook once more to show him. “See? He’s happy.”

“That isn’t like any dragon I’ve seen. Why didn’t you give him teeth? Or horns? And why are his ears like a bunny’s?” Viggo couldn’t help but to smile as Hiccup smacked him.

“Don’t be mean just because you lost. Besides, I only had a minute, and I think he’s cute!” Hiccup flipped to another page, stating that they were about to start again. 

After a minute had passed, Viggo announced time, and Hiccup showed him the drawing while obviously trying way too hard to keep a straight face. 

There on the page was Viggo, wearing reading glasses and a shirt with a large tractor on it. “Oh, you little shit,” Viggo said, which sent Hiccup into a fit of laughter, Viggo soon joining him. Yes, Viggo thinks he did very well in picking Hiccup. The kid was good to have around, and Viggo hasn’t even been utilizing him for sex. Truly, a good choice. 

Just as Hiccup’s laughter had died down and he was flipping to another page, gunfire froze them both in their tracks. 

There on the road before them, two vehicles appeared from out of the woods and pulled unto the road to block their path. Several men with assault rifles were approaching them from all sides, and Viggo hesitantly pulled the truck to a stop. His heart was pounding, and he felt as Hiccup reached for him, grabbing his wrist in a tight grip.

“Hiccup, do exactly as I say, alright?” He felt more than saw Hiccup nod, the boy frozen, a look of terror on his face. 

Viggo knew he wouldn’t be able to back up and get them away without them both getting shot. No, they would have to surrender and pray they weren’t killed. Viggo would do his best to talk them out of the situation, but at the very least, they would lose all of their supplies. 

“Show us your hands!” Viggo couldn’t tell which of their masked assailants had spoken, but he raised both of his hands and motioned for Hiccup to do the same. “Now slowly get out of the truck. Don’t give these bastards an excuse; they won’t hesitate,” the same gruff voice said with a huff of laughter. 

Viggo opened the door slowly, looking back as Hiccup did the same. As soon as the door was opened, there were multiple hands grabbing at him and pulling him unto the ground and dragging him up to the front of the truck. He heard Hiccup scream profanities and could hear the scuffle as he probably attempted to fight the men off. A deafening blow could be heard, and Hiccup fell eerily silent, the sound of his body scraping over the ground the only thing that could be heard as he was dragged by his hair to sit beside Viggo in front of the truck. 

The men released them and stepped back, their dark mask obscuring their faces as they formed a loose circle around them. Viggo watched as Hiccup pushed himself up into a sitting position, holding his bleeding head, and appearing to be dazed from the blow.

One of the men left the circle and approached the armored vehicles in front of them. The masked man opened the door of the vehicle to reveal a very large man dressed in leather. The man stepped out, “Well, what do we have here? Two filthy loners with this many supplies? It must be Christmas.” The man walked over to them, barely sparing Viggo a glance before his eyes settled on Hiccup. He crouched down next to him, reaching out and tilting his face up. 

“Hell, well here’s my present.” The man’s voice was a pleased rumble, and Hiccup tried to pull his face away, only for the man’s grip to tighten painfully. “Aww, don’t you worry, little thing. We’re not gonna kill ya. No, we could always use some more pretty faces at camp, right boys?” At this, all the men around them whooped and cheered.

Viggo peered at Hiccup’s face, quite curious at how Hiccup would respond. Besides, Viggo may learn something that can be used later, whether about Hiccup or about the man that appeared to be this group’s leader.

“Ah, yeah, darling. We’ll have a spot for you, alright. But your friend here? Now, why would we need him alive?” When saying this, the man didn’t even glance at Viggo, more interested in Hiccup’s reaction. Hiccup, however, didn’t give one. Or at least, not one the man expected. 

“Go fuck yourself,” Hiccup growled before spitting at the man. Hiccup looked downright murderous, and for his part, didn’t seem afraid in the slightest. Yes, Viggo picked very well when he picked Hiccup.

The large man simply leaned back, laughing very loudly as he calmly wiped the spit off of his face. “You’re a feisty one, huh?” The man suddenly lashed out, calm exterior gone in a moment as he backhanded Hiccup hard enough to send the boy sprawling on the ground. “I’m gonna enjoy breaking you, little one. You’re gonna scream until your throat bleeds,” the man stated as he grabbed a fistful of Hiccup’s hair and forced him back into a kneeling position. “But first, for that little stunt you just pulled, in front of all of my men, no less… well, we can’t let that go unpunished, hm?”

Hiccup looked a tad more scared than he did moments ago, and Viggo was distracted at just how much of a beauty Hiccup was on his knees. He did, however, need to attempt to stop this before the ridiculously large man above them decided to try and take what was his.

“I-if I may,” Viggo started, trying not to lose his words at the sight of all of the weapons being trained on him for speaking out. “The boy is a mechanical engineer. He’s useful. And I’m a doctor,” Viggo lied. “We could both be of great use to you and your group. In fact, we’ve been traveling together for several months now, trying to find a group of our own.”

The large man stood, still gripping Hiccup’s hair and dragging the boy with him as Hiccup clawed at the man’s hand and yelped in pain whenever the man pulled his hair harshly. The man moved to stand in front of Viggo, Hiccup unsteady on his knees beside the man before the man released Hiccup. The boy fell back to the ground, scooting away slightly to be more beside Viggo. 

Viggo would have been extremely pleased with this action in any other situation. This means that the boy’s conditioning was working. Hiccup sees Viggo as his protector and goes to him when he’s scared. However, Viggo knew this man, hell, Viggo was quite similar to this man upon the first inspection. And Viggo knew the man would see him as competition for Hiccup’s attention. If the man wanted Hiccup, then the first thing to do would be to destroy everyone that makes the boy feel safe. 

It’s the same thing Viggo did with Hiccup’s friends, and Viggo knew it would be the same thing this man did. Hiccup had just sealed Viggo’s fate, whether he knew it or not. 

“We already have a doctor.” The man seemed to try and size Viggo up, determining whether or not he was a threat. “Why don’t we try this, if my little boy, here, can do me a favor, then I’ll let you live,” the man said while gesturing towards Viggo. “If he chooses not to, well,” the man pulled a gun from his holster and twirled it in his hands, which looked rather stupid to Viggo, but Hiccup was tense beside him. “What do ya say, dollface? You gonna help me out?” The man’s smile was downright sinister, and Viggo knew that even if Hiccup consented and did as asked that Viggo would not be spared. 

Either way, if he was going to die, he at least wants to see the boy’s pretty lips wrap around something, even if it isn’t him.

“W-what do you want?” Hiccup asked, and Viggo wanted to roll his eyes at the naivety of his boy.

The larger man held out his hand expectantly, and Hiccup hesitantly reached up to take it. As soon as Hiccup’s small hand touched the callused, dark hand, the man grabbed on and pulled Hiccup to him. He then pushed until Hiccup was on his knees, facing the man before placing the boy’s hand on his crotch. Hiccup tried to recoil his hand, but the man held firm. 

“I want you to unzip my pants and take my cock. You think you can handle that, little boy? ‘Cause if not, I’m sure my men here won’t have a problem with killing off that friend of yours.” The man grinded forward into Hiccup’s hand, and Viggo watched as Hiccup’s shoulders shook and he tried to curve into himself and away from the man. “What’s it gonna be, darling? Wanna give my men a show?” 

Hiccup still wouldn’t look up at the man, and Viggo feared that the boy wouldn’t actually go through with it. How unfair would that be? For Viggo to have kept the little brat alive and drag him halfway across the fucking country only to be killed before he ever even got to see the boy take cock? 

“Well? Get the hell on with it, Hiccup. Show him what those pretty lips can do.” Viggo said angrily. He should have held the boy down and fucked him in bed that morning. If he survived this, he sure as hell wouldn’t waste any more time before taking what was rightfully his. 

Hiccup looked back at him in horror, his mouth slightly agape, but when Viggo simply motioned for Hiccup to continue, the boy turned back around and finally looked up at the larger man. 

The man laughed, cupping Hiccup under his chin, and shutting the boy’s mouth. “Now, see? Even your friend wants to see. So go on, I won’t be patient for much longer.” The man released Hiccup’s face, and Viggo watched as the boy slowly dropped his gaze to the sizable tent in the man’s pants. 

Hiccup reached up with shaky hands and slowly undid the man’s jeans. The boy exhaled, trying desperately to calm himself as he pulled down the man’s underwear allowing his cock to spring free. Hiccup stared at the cock, obviously unsure of what to do, and Viggo desperately wished he could see the boy’s face.

“Go on, darling. Explore.” The man pressed his hips forward, and Hiccup grabbed the man’s cock if only to keep it from hitting him in the face. The man sighed into the touch, but when Hiccup didn’t move to do anything further, the man turned the gun in his hand around and struck Hiccup across the face with it. 

Hiccup cried out in pain, falling onto the ground once again, but didn’t have much time to recover before the man’s hand was around his throat, pulling him back up. “I’ve tried to be nice with you, darling, but you’re testing my patience. Do you want your friend to fucking die?!” The man spat down at Hiccup, who was now noticeably shaking and crying. Hiccup shook his head, and Viggo could see as the boy’s head turned how the gun had broken skin when it made contact with Hiccup’s face. 

Great, now his boy was bleeding from two separate spots on his face and was bruised. If the men kept this up, Hiccup would die from brain trauma.

“Alright, last chance, doll. Do me proud.” The man turned them to where Viggo could get a better view before he dropped Hiccup again and pulled the boy’s face towards his groin. Hiccup reached a hand out to stroke the man’s length, and after several pulls, the man pressed Hiccup’s face into his groin. Hiccup obediently tongued at the man’s cock, kissing and licking whatever was available. His other hand shakily reached up and began to fondle the dark man’s balls. The man sighed in pleasure, leaning his head back and letting Hiccup get to work.

There were catcalls and cheers going up from the several men around them, and Viggo loved the way Hiccup’s face heated up due to his humiliation. 

But Hiccup was nothing if not a hard worker. He seemed to be trying to get the man off as soon as he could manage, but the man kept grabbing Hiccup’s wrist and slowing him down or fisting his hair to keep his mouth in one spot. 

After several long moments of watching Hiccup’s beautiful mouth, Viggo realized he was getting very uncomfortable in his jeans. His own length was straining, wanting desperately to be what Hiccup was lavishing with attention. 

Some of the other men have started palming themselves through their clothes, watching as their leader pulled Hiccup off of him only to grab his length and guide it to Hiccup’s mouth. 

“Good boy, now open up,” Hiccup did, eyelashes wet with tears as he looked up pleadingly at the man slowly pushing a cock into his mouth. “Ah, there we go. You feel amazing, dollface. Relax your throat, yeah, like that.” The man had one hand buried in Hiccup’s hair while the other cupped the boy’s face. “Shh… You’re fine. Look at me, yeah, keep your eyes open, babe.”

Viggo watched in morbid fascination as Hiccup’s throat slowly accepted the man’s cock. As the man slid deeper and deeper, Viggo could see as Hiccup desperately fought to not gag, emerald eyes glistening with unshed tears. Viggo sat back, resisting the urge to palm himself as he watched Hiccup’s throat slowly stretch as the man finally settled, balls deep into Hiccup’s mouth. 

Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, the unshed tears quickly falling and streaking down his face. The larger man’s eyes were closed as well, and he sat still, buried in Hiccup for a moment, and Viggo watched attentively as Hiccup’s face began to redden from lack of oxygen. 

The man then withdrew, allowing Hiccup to gasp for air, before sinking slowly back in all the way to the hilt. Hiccup gagged hard, this time, but the man simply kept going, murmuring comforting words to Hiccup and telling him to relax and swallow. 

Hiccup was struggling, hands flying to the man’s waist and trying to push him off, but the man held him steadfast. “Relax, doll,” the man said, slightly frustrated.

“Hiccup, dear. Squeeze your thumb.” Every eye turned to Viggo as he spoke, but he kept his attention on Hiccup. “Squeeze your thumb in your hand, it’ll help.” Viggo watched as the man pulled out almost all of the way, and Hiccup obediently squeezed his thumb. “Good boy,” Viggo whispered as the man shoved his way back into Hiccup’s mouth.

There was no gag. At this, the large man looked over at him questioningly as he continued to thrust in and out of Hiccup’s mouth. Hiccup was squeezing both of his thumbs hard enough to threaten a fracture, but seemed to be slightly calmer now that he didn’t feel like he was choking. 

“How did you know that?” The man asked and Viggo wanted to roll his eyes and sigh as if the question bored him, but he knew that wouldn’t bode well for him. 

“Well, I’ve trained several boys. Found that one a few months back. It’s a shame you got to break him in before I did,” Viggo said, allowing his gaze to drift back to Hiccup, who now seemed adorably confused and even more frightened. 

The larger man laughed loudly, still thrusting into Hiccup’s throat at a languid pace. “Yes, he’s quite a nice find. Most of them didn’t seem to survive long out here, though. It’s a shame really, since I burn through them so quickly,” the man said, momentarily turning his attention back to Hiccup. “Did I tell you to stop looking at me? Eyes up here, doll.” Hiccup’s eyes fluttered, gaze snapping back to the man above him. “Good boy. So, Hiccup, is it? That’s an unusual name. Quite fitting, I think. And you?” The man looked back to Viggo, and Viggo stood, startling the masked men around them still palming themselves or stroking themselves back into action, raising their guns and moving to defend their leader. 

“My name is Viggo Grimborn, and it’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mr…?” Viggo offered his hand to shake and, after a pregnant pause, the man accepted his hand, shaking it. The men seemed to accept this as a peace treaty because most of them instantly relaxed and resumed their previous activities. 

“My name is Drago, Drago Bludvist.” After they shook hands, Viggo looked down at Hiccup, mouth stretched obscenely wide around the man - Drago Bludvist’s - cock. Hiccup was crying, and he looked downright terrified as he looked up at Viggo.

Drago smacked him lightly, and the boy’s eyes returned to Drago’s. “That’s right, you keep your eyes on your master, boy.” After Drago made sure Hiccup obeyed him, he held eye contact with him for a moment before returning his attention to Viggo. “So, you say you haven’t gotten a chance to break him in?” Drago pulled out of Hiccup’s mouth, leaving the boy sputtering and spitting below him. “Would you like to keep him occupied for a moment? I think I’d like more than just his mouth.” Drago left Hiccup to walk around him, and Hiccup choked out a sob, trying to lunge away, only to be caught by Drago’s large hand. 

“Ah, you’ll learn your place soon enough, little one. Now, why don’t you keep your friend comfortable for me?” Drago pulled Hiccup back into place, one hand wrapped securely around the front of Hiccup’s throat while the other snaked around to the front of the boy’s dark jeans. 

Hiccup choked out another sob, and Viggo stepped forward, cupping Hiccup under the chin and forcing him to look at him. He was a mess, with spit running down his chin and tears tracking his face, but he was still gorgeous in his own right. His emerald eyes were alight with hatred, yet filled with tears. “Y-you’re-” Hiccup started, only to be interrupted as Viggo thrust two fingers into his mouth. 

“Shh, after the months I’ve kept you alive, you at least owe me this Hiccup.” Viggo retracted his fingers and undid his jeans, taking out his cock and pressing it to the boy’s shiny lips. “Now, be a good boy and put that mouth to use.” 

  
  


Hiccup clenched his teeth and shook his head. He was terrified as Viggo stood above him, looking emotionless and cruel, pressing his cock head to Hiccup’s trembling lips. Hiccup felt a fresh wave of tears flow down his cheek, body shuddering as the man, Drago, ran his hands up a down his waist in what Hiccup assumed was supposed to be a soothing gesture, before tugging his pants down.

Hiccup cried out, trying to, again, push away from the men, only to fail and have the men pull him back into place He lowered his head and clenched his legs together, trying desperately to curl in on himself. He knew he looked pathetic, but he was shutting down. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t fight, and the only person he had left in the world was betraying him. The man that had been by his side all of these months was now pulling at his hair, trying to get access to his mouth. Trying to use him and violate him in every way possible. 

The man he had been sleeping beside and trusting with his life. The man he had just drawn for and tried to cheer up because he seemed nervous. For all Hiccup knew,  _ this _ was the place Viggo had been taking him all these months. 

He sniffled and tried to kick out at Drago, but the man simply lashed out at him again in anger. He then grabbed his foot and pulled until Hiccup was no longer curled, but sprawled out on his belly being dragged across the pavement. He cried out, and Drago released him before pressing his knee on the small of Hiccup’s back and leaning down.

“You  _ will _ submit to me, whether willingly or not. I  _ will _ break you, little one.” Drago growled in his ear, pressing Hiccup’s face into the hot concrete below. Hiccup heard a knife being unsheathed and shuddered, and once he felt the knife on his lower back, he screamed, pleading for the man to stop, but the knife continued, cutting and tearing at his jeans and underwear, occasionally pressing too hard into Hiccup’s skin and drawing blood. 

Hiccup stayed still and quiet as the man worked, trying to stop his shaking and catch his breath when he felt very familiar hands run through his hair. Viggo was there, kneeling in front of where Hiccup was pressed into the ground, carding through his hair gently, as if Hiccup were some injured animal. 

Hiccup bit back a cry as the knife jabbed into his lower calf. If he couldn’t stop this from happening, then he would at least not give them any more satisfaction in hearing him scream. 

Once his jeans were cut and pulled away, Drago’s large hands fisted into the shirt before ripping it straight off of Hiccup’s back. Hiccup gasped as those large hands reached around and felt his heaving chest before reaching up and wrapping around his throat. “Alright, little one. Time for you to be good. Here’s the offer. You take care of your friend here and submit to me while I breed you, and you can sleep in my bed tonight. If not, then you will sleep outside with the dead and with my men who may want a taste of their own. Do you understand?” The man’s other hand was stroking up and down his side, and Viggo was still softly stroking his hair. 

It was really hard to think. There were so many people touching him and watching him, and there were dead corpses walking towards them, Drago’s men picking them off as they came closer. But Drago’s words, they stuck. They made Hiccup realize that he would be going  _ home _ with this man. There was no more him and Viggo. Hiccup would live with this man, at his camp, and under his rule.

Was the man serious about letting all of his men have him? Surely that would kill him, but he was letting Viggo, a complete stranger, touch him, so he must not be too possessive. Hiccup’s head swam with thoughts, but ultimately, he nodded his defeat and consent, and the men both moved into action. 

Viggo’s hand petted his head softly before guiding him to his lap with his waiting cock. Hiccup obediently lowered his head, kissing up the length of Viggo’s cock, his other hand coming forward to stroke. 

Drago was pushing Hiccup’s knees under him and making him arch his back to expose himself fully. “Ah, what a beauty you are.” Drago’s hands were running down Hiccup’s sides and down to squeeze his ass. Hiccup shuddered, trying to swallow down the emotions that threatened to flood him. 

He wanted to throw a fit and scream and sob uncontrollably and to make them have to shoot him just to shut him up. He wanted to break down and lash out and scream and cry and… he wanted to fall back on his instincts and act how a scared animal should. 

Instead, he accepted Viggo’s length in his mouth, squeezing his thumb before the man’s hands settled in his hair and forced the rest of his length down Hiccup’s throat. Hiccup heard Drago ask one of his soldier’s something, but wasn’t sure what it was until he heard a cap pop open. 

He tensed, getting ready to fight when Viggo’s hand settled on his lower back and soothed him back into place. “You’re alright, Hiccup. It won’t hurt if you relax.”

Hiccup wanted to curse at the man, to scream at Viggo just how little Hiccup thought of him, but instead, settled for letting his teeth graze Viggo’s length. This, however, seemed to excite the man, because it elicited the first real moan from him. Hiccup wanted to vomit at the sound of this man taking pleasure in his suffering. Of taking pleasure from forcing him to  _ participate _ in his own defilement.

Drago shushed him, kissing and nipping his bottom before a gel was being rubbed against his rim. He shifted forward, away from the sensation, but was guided back into place by Drago’s other hand. With one hand on his hip to keep him in position, Drago began to tease Hiccup’s rim. 

Viggo started thrusting slowly into Hiccup’s mouth, and Hiccup felt like his thumb was going to break at how hard he was squeezing it. He might just vomit for reasons other than a dick gagging him. 

Drago let his finger slip inside and began to sink into him, but Hiccup panicked, jerking forward away from the sensation, whining in distress. Drago soothed him with soft praises and meaningless words, steadily working his finger into him while pulling him back into perfect position.

His sounds of distress at the unusual sensation of being fingered must have done something to the men around them, because everyone, even Viggo, seemed to be becoming more consumed in their pleasures. 

Hiccup tried to shift away again, just for spite, but Drago curled his finger and Hiccup gasped around Viggo’s cock, arms shaking underneath him as pleasure ripped through him. Drago pressed against that spot again, and Hiccup couldn’t help but moan around Viggo’s length as he saw stars dance in his vision at the pleasure. 

Drago laughed, along with several of his men, but Viggo didn’t. Viggo’s hand snuck its way back into Hiccup’s hair, and he pulled him up. Hiccup barely had a moment to realize his throat was no longer being fucked before his swollen lips were pressed against Viggo’s. Hiccup gasped against Viggo’s lips as Drago rubbed incessantly at that spot inside of him, now with two fingers, and Hiccup didn’t realize until he heard Drago chuckle that he had been pressing back into the administrations. He moaned into Viggo, allowing the other man to put his tongue in his mouth. Hiccup could feel himself growing hard, despite his racing heart and the adrenaline that flooded him in response to his fear.

He didn’t like having a dick down his throat, but at least his body could somehow find pleasure in this. Viggo ran his hands up and down his chest, his thumbs scraping across his nipples and making Hiccup thrust forward sloppily, trying to find more pleasure. Viggo moved closer, until their chests were flush with one another, Hiccup drowning in Viggo’s tongue and soft lips, the man’s beard scratching against his smooth skin.

Hiccup pressed back into Drago, only to feel the man’s fingers be removed. Hiccup couldn’t stop the whine that escaped at the lost contact, breaking his kiss with Viggo to look as if to say:  _ Hey? What gives? _

Drago simply chuckled, leaning forward and claiming Hiccup’s lips for a moment before lining himself up. Hiccup tensed, but was quickly soothed by both Drago and Viggo. He turned back to Viggo, who quickly brought their lips together and wrapped his hand around Hiccup’s dick. Hiccup gasped, shocked at the feeling of being touched there by another person. He felt Drago push in, and Hiccup’s head fell forward to rest on Viggo’s chest as the man slowly sunk all the way in. 

Before he could, Hiccup felt something in him tear, and he shrieked, jerking forward, almost toppling Viggo as he tried to escape the pain. He clawed at the ground, trying to get his feet under him, but Drago’s large hand wrapped around his neck and pulled him back until their bodies were flush. Drago sunk back in, and Hiccup tried to choke down his cries of pain.

It burned unlike anything he felt before, and he desperately tried to claw at the vice clamped around his throat. His chest was heaving as Drago slowly pulled out before thrusting back in. Viggo had rebalanced himself, moving forward to stroke him in time to Drago’s thrusts. Hiccup whined softly, vision blurry from his own tears. 

“V-Viggo-” Hiccup was cut off by his own cries of pain, but he tried to focus. His voice sounded rough and entirely  _ wrong, _ and he needed to speak clearly. “Viggo, please s-stop th-this…” Hiccup couldn’t see the man through his blurred vision, but he could feel those dark eyes on him. Yet the older man did nothing to help him, just continued stroking at his half-hard length.

He choked on a sob and Drago chuckled, squeezing at Hiccup’s abused throat until his air supply was cut off. Drago’s hand was tilting his hips back for a better angle before sinking himself back into Hiccup’s core. Hiccup gave up clawing at the man’s hand around his throat, instead choosing to hold on to it so he could have something to ground him. He squeezed his eyes shut, praying for something to just kill him and spare him this misery.

Drago started to pick up the pace, the man’s grip tightening on his hip until Hiccup was sure that he would see bruises there later in the shape of the man’s hand. Drago relaxed his hand around Hiccup’s throat, and Hiccup tried to choke down as much air as he could. He kept his own painfully tight grip on Drago’s hand, still needed to ground himself, but the man didn’t seem to mind. 

Drago leaned forward and began kissing and suckling on Hiccup’s neck, leaving a trail of a usual sensation in his wake. It wasn’t until several moments later that he realized he was moaning. He could feel Viggo’s hand squeeze him in encouragement on his length, and Drago slowed the pace for just a moment as he began whispering words in a foreign language into Hiccup’s ear.

They kept at it until Hiccup actually felt as if he were about to orgasm. Viggo seemed to notice and simply tapped Hiccup on his leg and whispered in his ear to lift. As Hiccup did, Drago grasped onto it, and the new angle had Drago’s cock dragging across that amazing spot inside of him on every thrust. Soon, the pain was forgotten as pleasure filled him and seemed to be boiling him alive in his own body with how hot he felt.

Hiccup couldn’t help the cascade of moans that left him on every breath. He could hear moans from a multitude of people around him, but he was only focused on the dark eyes in front of him that were calculating his every breath and stoking Hiccup’s fire in his belly with each and every stroke.

Viggo whispered to him, and although Hiccup couldn’t understand a word that was being spoken to him, he grasped onto the sound anyways, looking for anything to anchor him. Drago had resumed pounding into him at a punishing pace, and Viggo was matching him stroke by stroke. 

“Touch me, Hiccup,” Viggo breathed out, and Hiccup did, wrapping his hands around Viggo’s length and working it over, wanting Viggo to feel the same pleasure that Hiccup was feeling. 

Hiccup moaned again and Drago pulled him even closer, their bodies flush with one another and moving together in harmony. Viggo instantly shifted forward, so Hiccup could continue to stroke him. Drago was pounding fiercely into him, and Hiccup was almost screaming with every thrust at the mix of pleasure and pain, that spot inside of him almost in pain with how much pleasure it felt. 

Viggo was stroking his cock and fondling his balls and Drago was whispering filthy things into his ear, biting and kissing his neck, and Hiccup finally succumbed to the pleasure. He screamed his release, before going limp in the men’s arms. Drago pulled him away from Viggo before picking his body up, thrusting up into him, pulling him down to meet every thrust. After several deep, animalistic thrusts, the large man finally finished thrusting into him, grinding in deep and coming, hot bursts filling Hiccup’s body. Hiccup moaned again at the feeling, completely lax in Drago’s hold.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re done yet, boy,” Drago chuckled as Hiccup turned his exhausted gaze to Drago and then to Viggo before he finally caught up. He clumsily leaned forward, sliding off of Drago’s dick while trying to ignore the rush of fluids dripping out of his hole. He tried crawling towards Viggo, but his arms gave out. Viggo, of course, caught him and gently guided his mouth back to the hard length in front of him. 

Hiccup licked and sucked at it for several moments, being cheered on by Viggo’s small sounds of pleasure and the sounds of all those around him. Finally, Viggo grasped Hiccup’s hair before thrusting harshly into the boy’s mouth and down his throat before burying himself as deep as possible and releasing down the boy’s throat. Hiccup swallowed as much as he could and even tried to suckle Viggo’s dick as the man was pulling out, which earned him a pat on the head and a fond expression on the man’s face.

Viggo stood, and Hiccup almost fell forward again but managed to steady himself. 

“You did quite well, little one,” Drago said as he tucked himself back into his pants, nodding at one of his men. The man went to the same vehicle Drago exited from and returned with a fur blanket.

Hiccup was shaking, eyes not focusing well on anything, head throbbing, and his lower half starting to be overcome by pain once more. He’d never felt more exposed, exhausted, or confused in his life, and so didn’t resist when Drago draped the blanket over him and gently scooped him up. 

Hiccup rested his head against the man’s chest, trying to stay conscious of what was happening around him, but he felt nauseous and lightheaded, and couldn’t make out what the man holding him was saying. 

He groaned, which caused several people to laugh, and then he was moving, every little movement sending sharp spikes of pain ripping through his lower half. Soon, they weren’t moving anymore, and instead, he was curled up in someone's lap, being petted and stroked. 

He heard several doors slam shut and felt the rumbling of an engine and knew he was being taken to Drago’s home. He would belong to the man that raped him and have to obey him and submit to him in order to survive. 

He, however, had no intention of living like this. The first chance he got, he would escape or die trying. And if he went down, he was taking Drago Bludvist and Viggo Grimborn with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys didn't really think getting to Ryker's house was going to be easy, did you? 
> 
> Hope you guys like the chapter, let me know what you think!


	5. Birth of a Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!   
> Finally starting to settle into somewhat of a rhythm with the updates to this story. Expect an update once a week, maybe twice a week, but probably not more than two chapters in the same week!
> 
> Hope you enjoy the story!

Hiccup pretended to be asleep the entire car ride to try and give himself time to think. It was difficult, staying quiet and not reacting to every bump on the road that would send burning pain racing up his spine, but now Hiccup could care less what was difficult. His life was at stake, and so no matter what he had to do or endure to get through this, he would. So he remained limp in Drago’s arms as the man spoke to those around him and touched and prodded at Hiccup’s face and body.

He was going to escape, and he was going to survive. On his own. Fuck Viggo and Drago and everybody else that used something as serious as the  _ fucking apocalypse _ just to get their way. 

No, Hiccup was going to make them both pay, and he was going to escape and _live_. He was going to do it for his friends. He had to be strong and get out of this situation because he knows damn well none of them would give up right now, and so he wouldn’t either. That’s what gave him the willpower to stay still and wait as the man stroked his face. He was waiting for the right moment to fight. 

He’d much rather start kicking and screaming and spitting at the perverted men around him, but instead, he forced himself to remain still. He wasn’t strong like his dad, and he wasn’t skilled like Astrid, so he had to be  _ smart _ .

When the car finally came to a stop, Hiccup strained his ears to listen as the door was opened and Drago exited the vehicle, Hiccup still faking unconsciousness and limp in the man’s vice-like arms. He could hear several loud, obnoxious voices as they congratulated Drago on what a ‘pretty little thing’ he had found and how they doubted ‘it’ would be able to survive Drago. They went on and on and  _ on _ about how Hiccup was pretty, but far too small and too sickly looking and wouldn’t last two weeks with the man.

Hiccup managed to stay lax in his captor’s arms, trying to ignore the vile things the faceless people around him were saying. Drago simply laughed and assured them that his ‘new consort’ was tougher than he looked. Hiccup wanted to snarl at the man and try to grab the knife on his belt to slit the man’s throat. He knew, however, that he wouldn’t be successful. It was smarter to stay quiet and learn; to not bring attention to himself. 

So, instead, he focused on where Drago was taking him. Hiccup needed to know how to get outside and get to a vehicle if he was going to successfully escape. He counted the steps carefully in his head, ignoring the men speaking to Drago about what to do with the supplies they stole from Hiccup and Viggo. He took stock of every turn they took, every door they went through, and every set of stairs they climbed until finally, Drago was setting him down on soft furs. He remained still as he heard the clanking of chains and felt cold metal settle around his ankle like a death sentence. 

_ Shit. _ Maybe he should have fought; how fucking stupid was it to just  _ let _ Drago bring him here? Hiccup was trying not to doubt himself, but it was hard. He listened as Drago moved around the room and felt a sob build up in his chest, but he shoved it down. Now wasn’t the time to break. He had to be brave, like his friends and family.  _ He had too.  _

He listened as Drago finally left, shutting the door behind him. Hiccup listened for several long moments to assure he was truly alone. He listened to the heavy receding footsteps of Drago, and after the man was out of earshot, stayed still to listen for breathing, or any signs there were people outside of where he was being kept. After not hearing anything, Hiccup untangled himself from the blanket he was wrapped in sat up to see what caged him to the bed. 

The metal manacle was wrapped tightly around his ankle and looked to be similar to handcuffs. Good. Tuff had taught him the trick of getting out of police handcuffs, and although Hiccup was never successful at it, he still technically knew  _ how _ , right? All he needed was something small enough to fit in the keyhole of the manacles. 

He searched for several agonizingly long minutes for something,  _ anything _ that he could use, but was becoming increasingly more distressed at how long it was taking him. Thoughts of what would happen if he failed to escape or how long it might take for him to actually break free crept in, but he shoved them down. He had to get out  _ today.  _

Finally, he grew so frustrated that he wanted to punch the wooden bedpost. However, he couldn’t risk injury; he had to be able to fight. He forced himself to take several breaths and to think. He wasn’t going anywhere if he couldn’t be objective and strategic. 

He focused himself on calming down and to just breathe. Fuck how long it took; him learning how to undo the manacles is enough for him to create an opportunity to escape whether today or… in the future. He could endure as much as he needed. He has to remember that. 

Now solely focused on his task, he studied everything within reach again. Again, he found nothing, and the bedpost was much too solid to simply break to get himself free. His fingers fiddled nervously with the manacle and then the bedpost as he thought. 

Wait, the bedpost. The  _ wooden _ bedpost. Perhaps he could use the edge of his shackles to get a splinter large enough to work with to pick the lock! He let his fingers trail down to where his manacle was connected to another that was secured around the bedpost that was bolted to the floor. 

He willfully ignored the obvious signs of abrasion from where other people had struggled and caused the manacle attaching them to the bed to scrape against the wood. It was at least a good start for him to work with. He grabbed the manacle attached to the bedpost with both hands and began to scrape methodically against the wood, trying to create a splinter.

It took far too long, but eventually, he was successful. After acquiring his new tool, he got to work. He went through every single instruction Tuff had given him in the past. He failed. Repeatedly. But he was determined. He was going to be successful, eventually. 

His splinter broke, and he had to make himself another. He attempted again to pick the lock and had to bite back a cry of excitement as he was finally successful in getting the manacle to click open. 

He removed his foot from its metal prison and shifted off the mattress, trying to be as quiet as possible and keeping the mattress from creaking. 

He ignored the red bloodstains on the blanket that Drago had wrapped him in after… 

After he and Viggo violated him. Because that’s what happened. Hiccup knew he should probably feel shame, and he did, to a point, but he mainly felt anger. He wasn’t used to anger, it was more Astrid’s thing, but he couldn’t deny the rage burning inside of him. 

Maybe his shame was  _ why _ he was so upset. He felt as if he had somehow let everyone in his life down. First, he miraculously survived when he knows  _ damn _ well he was the weakest link by far in both his family and friends. Astrid should have made it. His father too… They were the survivors and by far the most reliable people he knew. 

His being too ignorant to even see who he had been traveling with the past several months only proved that he shouldn’t be here. Now, here he was, captured, bloody, and lying on some strange man’s bed because he was too weak to protect himself. 

_ Too weak, too small, too stupid! _

But he couldn’t afford to think like that. That’s not how Astrid saw him. She thought he was smart and brave and a leader, and he was going to have to be that if he were to survive. So he was going to get out of this shitstorm he brought upon himself for her. For all of them. And so far, at least he would have made Tuff proud.

Determined, he got to his feet, ignoring how his lower body burned in pain and how his face and throat ached from bruises. He scanned the room, seeing only the bed adorned with a multitude of furs and blankets, a desk with papers strewn all across it, a closet filled with far too large clothes, and a small bathroom attached. There was also a large jewel-encrusted sword mounted on the wall that Hiccup immediately got. There were, sadly, no windows, so he wouldn’t be able to get a look at what he was up against. 

He wiped himself up as best he could with a towel from the bathroom and then went to the closet. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants that were far too large and a black shirt. Sadly, there were no shoes or even anything he could use as shoes in the room. After fastening the sweat pants to where they would stay up on their own, he went to the desk and sifted through the papers trying to find anything of importance. 

He needed to be quick. Drago could be back any second. That thought alone sent a chill down Hiccup’s spine and made his heart race with fear. There was no way Drago was going to hurt him again. He wasn’t sure he could take it. 

The documents seemed to be for Drago and consisted of how much food and ammunition they had. There was another one with a list of all of the people that made up their community and one that listed all of their weapons. After just a couple glances, he knew it would be a damn miracle for him to get out of here alive much less unseen. 

Drago had a lot of people and even more guns. Hiccup just prayed that Drago severely underestimated him and wouldn’t be guarding him.

Nonetheless, Hiccup had to try. He went to the door, sword in hand, and eased it open, happy to find that it led to an empty, dark hallway. He was carried in from the right, so Hiccup went that way, hoping to find the exit to this building and be able to somewhat retrace his steps to wherever they kept their vehicles. 

He followed the hallway, taking what he assumed were the appropriate turns based on how many steps were between each turn, but Drago’s gait was a lot longer than his. 

He turned another corner, relieved to see a set of stairs leading down. He was right on track. At the bottom of the stairs, he could see natural sunlight filling a vast, empty lower floor.

‘ _ Maybe this was a warehouse of some sort?’ _ Hiccup thought as he turned to go towards the window. Just as he rounded the corner to go down the stairs, he heard a door below him open and voices heading his way. Hiccup backtracked to hide behind another turn he had taken. The voices got louder, and Hiccup tried to remain as still and silent as possible. There was the sound of loud footsteps heading up the stairs. There were only two sets of footsteps, and the two voices he had heard were neither Drago or Viggo. Good. 

Hiccup listened intently as the people reached the top of the stairs and headed the opposite direction from him. After he heard their footsteps recede, he darted back to where he began and started cautiously going down the metal stairs. 

When he reached the bottom, he took a quick look around and was happy to note that he was alone. He headed towards one set of the large windows that surrounded this warehouse-looking room and peered outside. He saw Viggo speaking with a group of five other men. His hand gripping the sword suddenly felt very heavy. He  _ wanted _ the man dead. But did Hiccup have what it takes to kill him? Although he wasn’t sure, he knew if he was given the chance, he would  _ have _ to do it. For his father. For Astrid. He  _ had  _ to survive, no matter what that cost him.

Besides, maybe Hiccup’s skin wouldn’t crawl every time he thought about all the nights he had let the older man hold him if he were dead. 

Said man currently looked rather pissed, and when Hiccup could finally draw his attention away from him, he saw why. They were unloading the truck he and Viggo had packed and apparently, were keeping Viggo from getting anything. But no, that’s not why Viggo seems mad… it’s almost like the men are keeping him out of the warehouse that Hiccup was being held in. 

Was the man attempting to come and help him? Or hurt him again?  _ Use _ him again?

Hiccup shook his head, trying to ignore those thoughts as he turned away from where he was crouched to see if there were any other exits of the warehouse. He couldn’t go through the front door with all of those men standing there.

He turned back to look to see if there was another way he could access the lot where all of their vehicles were stored when he saw Viggo’s eyes. Those dark, dark eyes that used to make Hiccup’s skin crawl and feel as if he were being hunted. Those eyes that over time Hiccup had learned to trust to watch over him. Those very same eyes that were now  _ looking straight at him. _

Hiccup froze, fearing that Viggo would out him and that his escape attempt would fail. Honestly, though, why wouldn’t the man out him? Hiccup stayed still, glaring at the older man in challenge, trying to determine what he was thinking. Viggo’s face, however, didn’t change at all. He stayed calm and made no sign that he had even seen Hiccup. Maybe he hadn’t? Or perhaps he was just letting Hiccup go? But why would he do that? To keep Hiccup for himself? 

Hiccup decided he couldn’t waste more time with thoughts about  _ Viggo _ and left his place at the window to scout the other side of the warehouse. If the bastard did decide to out him, Hiccup wanted to have at least a head start. He found another door, and after checking the window for any sign of people, exited through it. Now that he was outside of the warehouse, he could see Drago’s community more clearly. 

There were several large trucks and armored vehicles and trucks parked in the lot Hiccup was standing in, and they served to help block Hiccup from view as he darted between them. There were several other buildings besides the warehouse he had just left, but they all seemed like they were commercial and related to one another. With all of the weapons and armored vehicles and camo he saw around him, Hiccup wouldn’t be surprised if Drago’s community was on the grounds of a factory that used to make weapons or ammo or something. 

_ ‘Maybe this was a military base?’  _ Hiccup thought as he tried a vehicle’s door. It was locked, as were the next several he tried. Fuck it. Hiccup needed to get the hell away from these people, even if that meant on foot through the woods while barefoot. 

He turned around the front of the car he had been trying to get into and almost bumped into the asshole himself,  _ Viggo _ . Hiccup decidedly did  _ not _ shriek when Viggo grabbed his arm holding the sword and swiftly disarmed him. 

Well, fuck.

“Hiccup? What the hell are you doing? How did you get out?” Viggo asked in a hushed whisper. Hiccup couldn’t help it. He punched Viggo in the face and tried to run for it. 

It didn’t take Viggo long to catch up and shove him against the side of a vehicle, which angered Hiccup all the more. He fought wildly, like a cornered animal, and the larger man eventually relented under the onslaught, backing away slightly and holding his hands out in a placating gesture.

“Hiccup, please, I’m just trying to help you,” Viggo stated, and Hiccup saw red.

“Trying to help me? You fucking stood there and let that man  _ rape  _ me. You  _ helped  _ him do it!” Hiccup could distantly register that he was being far too loud and was going to draw attention to them, but he didn’t care. “Y-you said you were gonna do the same thing to me, and-” Hiccup was interrupted as Viggo was suddenly in his space again, hand pressed tightly over Hiccup’s mouth. 

“Shh, quiet. And of  _ course _ I said that, my dear, I had to play along. That mad man would have killed me otherwise. Now how would I be able to rescue you if I was dead?” Viggo took his hand away from Hiccup’s mouth, but Hiccup stayed quiet. 

Hiccup didn’t know what to think. Could he believe Viggo? Did the man do it just so he wouldn’t be killed? Did it even matter  _ why  _ he did it? He still did it, right? He really wanted to believe Viggo so he wouldn’t have to be alone in the world.  _ Truly _ alone. With not a soul alive that knew his name. But he knew, in the deepest, most primal parts of him, that Viggo was a predator just like Drago.

“Fine. Then help me get out of here,” Hiccup relented as he held his hand out to the older man so he could get his sword back. He wasn’t sure what he would do  after their escape . Even though he genuinely  _ wanted _ to believe the older man, he knew that the man was the same as Drago. 

Viggo, surprisingly, handed the sword over. “Alright, let’s go. Hurry,” Viggo said as he started tugging Hiccup along. Hiccup went willingly, biting back everything he wanted to yell at the man in favor of being quiet so as not to get detected. 

Admittedly, Viggo  _ was _ better than Drago, even if only for the fact that Viggo didn’t have an army backing him. It would be easier to escape from him or overpower him and kill him if it came to it. So Hiccup would use the older man for now, and when the time came, Hiccup would leave or get rid of Viggo. 

They slowly made their way to the woods, hiding behind the cars and occasionally hiding under them as Drago’s people traveled past them. Once they were in the woods, though, they encountered another problem. Not too many yards into the woods was a massive wall of the dead. Their bodies writhed and moaned, reaching their decayed hands towards the duo. 

“What the  _ fuck _ is this?” Hiccup asked, taking a step back from the horror in front of them and wincing as he stepped on something sharp. He missed his combat boots already.

“I saw this when we drove in. It’s how Drago keeps enemies out and his prisoners in,” Viggo said, stepping closer to study the mass of bodies before them, completely unbothered.

Hiccup wanted to question how Viggo wasn’t disgusted by the gruesome image before them but figured he’d be wasting his breath. He was more than likely admiring Drago’s handiwork than anything else. It’s not like the asshole cared that all of these corpses used to be  _ people.  _

“How do we get around it?” Hiccup asked, trying to hide his growing hatred for the man in front of him.

“Not sure. The bridge we drove in on is one way, but it would be hard to not get seen due to the guards. However, I’m guessing that will be our safest bet,” Viggo said before grabbing Hiccup’s wrist and leading them towards said bridge.

Hiccup roughly yanked his hand away from Viggo, not looking at the man who obviously seemed startled by the behavior. 

“Hiccup, I told you I only did and said those things to survive,” Viggo said while trying to catch Hiccup’s eye. The younger man refused, keeping his eyes forward and face blank. “Would you have rather me sit back and watch him hurt you? Just wait for my own death so I could be nothing more than one of the undead?” Viggo paused as if waiting for Hiccup to argue or agree, but Hiccup ignored the older man. Viggo continued, “Did you want me just to die and to leave you to the fate of being his plaything? I was being  _ smart.” _

Hiccup didn’t respond with all of the vile things he wanted to spit at the man and instead remained silent and focused on their escape. Viggo dropped the subject too, despite the rage burning in his eyes. Good. Maybe the man was pissed off that Hiccup finally saw through his bullshit.

When they reached the bridge, they had to stay crouched down behind the foliage to keep from being spotted by the four people guarding the entrance to their base. There was indeed a bridge, but they seemed to be at the very end of it and wouldn’t be able to cross under it. Hell, based on the loud snarling that was almost suffocating, Hiccup could assume that the underpass of the bridge was most likely swarming with the dead. An effective way to keep people out.

Hiccup could basically  _ see _ the multitude of thoughts running through Viggo’s mind as he studied the scene before them. Hiccup was also trying to think of a way to get past the guards or distract them so they could slip past, but Drago’s base seemed pretty secure. 

Hiccup heard the whir of an engine and watched as three large trucks entered the base. One was a pickup with a tarp tied tightly over whatever they were hauling, and the other two were armored vehicles. Their vehicles weren’t checked past the driver speaking to the guards, and the guards seemed almost disinterested in them. There must be multiple vehicles in and out each day.

The three vehicles entered and headed towards the same lot that Hiccup and Viggo had just been in. As Hiccup watched their trek, he saw them pass a lone vehicle that seemed to be about to exit the base. A lone truck hauling a trailer that had several ATVs tied to it. 

“That’s it! Follow me,” Hiccup whispered before moving. He was leaving with or without Viggo. Actually, so far, Viggo had been basically worthless in Hiccup’s escape, and that made Hiccup sort of proud. He crouched behind a tree, watching as the guards conversed with one another from their positions, not really watching the road in or out. Perfect. 

As the truck passed, Hiccup darted towards the trailer, swinging himself unto it and then pulling himself between the ATVs praying he was out of sight. His heart was racing in hopes that he actually pulled this off. He felt a familiar weight settle next to him and couldn’t help but grin at the older man, despite the anger he still felt towards him. They were actually doing it! Hiccup was going to be free from his captors,  _ both of them,  _ soon.

The truck stopped briefly to speak to the guards, and then, amazingly, they were off, crossing the bridge and escaping from the madman, Drago Bludvist.

Hiccup could barely keep still with his excitement. Next, he’d just have to ditch Viggo.

“I think we should wait until we get further down the road, and then jump off once we get the opportunity,” Viggo whispered into his ear, sending shivers of disgust down Hiccup’s spine. 

Hiccup nodded and tried to calm his racing heart. He had fucking done it! As soon as he relaxed and his adrenaline high wore off, he immediately missed it. He forgot how much he hurt. His face and head hurt from where he’d been hit. His throat was sore and bruised both inside and out. He could feel the heavy bruises lining his waist pressing into him every time he moved. The worst, by far, was his insides. He didn’t know much about sex between men, but he was pretty positive that it wasn’t normal to bleed or feel this much pain afterward.

Hell, even his feet were sore and bleeding from his short trek through the woods while barefoot. He still wasn’t quite used to how frail the human body was. After a life of sleeping on a soft mattress and wearing comfortable clothes and being able to take medicine anytime he even had a headache, he wasn’t used to his body having to take any abuse. Maybe he should keep Viggo around for a little longer, at least until he had healed some?

He shifted, wincing at the pain that he had somehow miraculously ignored through his escape. He wasn’t sure how he had even been standing up, but he did. He not only pushed through the pain, but he was successful at escaping his very first try. He couldn’t have been in Drago’s camp for more than an hour, if even that, before he was free again.

He felt Viggo shift the tiniest bit closer, and Hiccup instinctively wanted to relax back into the warm body that’s been by him for the past several months. He resisted, however, because he still didn’t trust the man. This was a man willing to participate in  _ rape _ to save his own skin. He had initially disliked and distrusted the man, and Hiccup was beginning to believe that there was a good reason for that. 

After several long minutes, Viggo shifted again and motioned for Hiccup to move too. On Viggo’s mark, they both maneuvered out from between the ATVs and jumped off the trailers, quickly darting into the woods and out of sight. 

“The road up ahead leads to a town. We’ll take it and get more supplies once there,” Viggo said, and although Hiccup might have disagreed if he felt a little better, as it was, he was leaning against a tree and catching his breath. Jumping off the trailer and hitting the ground had caused such pain that it knocked the breath out of him. He just nodded and complied as Viggo gently grabbed Hiccup’s arm and guided it across his shoulders, taking some of his weight and guiding them both where they were headed. 

“I-I don’t know how you managed to escape, Hiccup, but I’m glad you did,” Viggo said softly. “You… I’m glad to have you back, Hiccup. I won’t let you down again,” Viggo promised. The older man spoke with such conviction in his promise to keep them safe that it made Hiccup question everything he had been thinking. 

Was Viggo manipulating him? Or was this genuine? Hiccup continued to ponder the man’s words in his head as he pulled away from him, not wanting the man’s help as he thought.

It was a hell of a long walk and gave Hiccup a long time to think. The sun was just beginning to dip lower in the sky as they saw the first outline of a building ahead of them. 

“Hey, look. We’re almost there,” Hiccup said as he trudged onward. It felt really odd to not have the familiar weight of a backpack on his back, but he was somewhat thankful to not have to carry the extra weight. 

He was hungry, though. To make things worse, one of those assholes at Drago’s camp would get to eat his M&Ms. And he had lost his sketchbook! He hadn’t even gotten to try out the paints.

He should have known things had gotten too good. Of course, it wouldn’t last.  _ Nothing _ good lasted for Hiccup. Well, to be fair, Viggo had given him that sketchbook, and Hiccup doesn’t quite know how to feel about that. Maybe it’s good to have lost everything they had worked for together. Now Hiccup didn’t feel like he owed Viggo much of anything. 

Yeah, the man had kept him alive for a few months, but then he admitted to only doing that just so he could abuse Hiccup. Then he  _ did _ abuse Hiccup so… so they were even. Or close to even. 

The real question is, does he want to stay with Viggo? Despite what he did, he’s proved himself useful and managed to keep Hiccup alive even when Hiccup didn’t  _ want _ to be alive. It would be good to not be alone, but could Hiccup stay with him? The man had refused to even tell Hiccup where they had been traveling for the past several months for fuck’s sake. 

Hiccup didn’t know for sure what he wanted. He knew he didn’t want to be alone, but there were other people. People that weren’t Drago or Viggo… But were there any good people left? People like his dad? Or was everyone going to be like Drago? 

Hiccup shook his head, unsure what his decision was. Strategically, it might be better to stay with the older man, but something deep down in Hiccup was telling him to kill the man where he stood. The sword in Hiccup’s hand felt more oppressive than ever with the decision on his shoulders.

As they continued forward, they began to hear the moans of the dead approaching from their left. They kept walking towards the town, but soon the moans were near-deafening yet still not close enough to see. Hiccup felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as the sound steadily grew. He glanced at Viggo, and the man seemed unnaturally pale. 

“Do you think it’s a horde?” Hiccup asked, remembering that the last time he had seen a horde, he had lost both of the twins. 

Viggo nodded stiffly, starting to walk faster before pulling them both into a run towards the town. Hiccup was trying his best to keep up and ignore the hot fire burning through him as he ran. He glanced behind them and saw the first few corpses exit the treeline across the road from them. After the first few, dozens more could be seen piling unto the street after them. Hiccup tripped and went down hard, but he didn’t have a moment to recover before Viggo was yanking him up and pulling him along. 

Hiccup could sense just how terrified the older man was due to the horde and was almost glad to see the once impenetrable composure reduced to nothing. He spared another quick glance back and saw that the horde was still piling unto the road, no break in sight. There was no way to guess just how many of them there were. There could be hundreds.

They continued to run towards the town, trying to move faster than the horde and get out of the horde’s way completely as they passed.

Unfortunately, they were not nearly as quiet running as they were walking, and soon, the corpses were angled towards their noise. Hiccup sprinted as fast as he could, pushing himself as hard as possible to reach the town. They managed to get somewhat in front of the herd, but the herd had changed directions and was slowly but steadily making their way towards the city. 

Viggo and Hiccup both stayed silent, running towards the town blindly. When they finally reached it, they took a few moments to breathe, looking at the distance they put between themselves and the horde. They had several minutes to find a good enough shelter to wait out the horde. 

“We- we need- to find- someplace high,” Viggo panted out. Hiccup nodded in agreement, and they both searched the town, eyes settling on the massive mall that stood in the center of the small town. It was at least two or three stories. They both started moving towards the mall. 

Hiccup was the first to notice the second horde moving towards them. He broke back into another sprint, trying to reach the mall before the second horde spotted them. If the things saw them go in, they could be trapped for a long time. Since Drago’s camp was so near this town, Hiccup doubted there would be any supplies left in the mall, so they couldn’t afford to be stuck. 

Stuck… he might be trapped in a building with Viggo with no place to run. Fear laced its way through Hiccup’s mind, and the boy paused as he reached the deserted mall, absently noticing that the windows had been boarded up as if other people had tried living here. 

‘ _ What if other people are in there right now?’ _ Hiccup thought nervously. On the one hand, he wouldn’t be stuck with only Viggo, but on the other, what if whoever might be in there was just like Viggo or Drago?

He had to think and quickly. If other people are in there, would Viggo help him survive? Or make it more difficult? What if no one was in there? Being trapped in a building with  _ anybody _ was scary, but with Viggo? Hiccup needed to decide now. Does he need Viggo to survive?

Viggo hasn’t been helpful much at all today. Sure, last night he helped load and drive the truck that got stolen from them, but after that, all he managed to accomplish was to force Hiccup to give him oral sex. Other than that, though? Viggo hasn’t done shit. No,  _ Hiccup _ is who escaped the facility. He’s the one that had the plan to get them out. Hiccup doesn’t need Viggo. 

He doesn’t need Viggo.

It was with this thought that Hiccup pushed through the revolving door, letting himself enter and then pausing. Did he want to let Viggo in? The second horde was seconds away from reaching the town; he could get rid of Viggo right now if he wanted. He wouldn’t be trapped with the man. 

The man that said he had only kept Hiccup alive so that he could do horrible things to him later. The man that aided in Hiccup’s rape for his own survival. Did Hiccup really want that as his companion? As the person to have his back? 

Hiccup paused in the revolving door, looking back at the man pushing on the doors to let him in. Hiccup pushed back. No. 

Viggo couldn’t hurt him again… couldn’t- couldn’t  _ use  _ him again.

Viggo and Drago would both pay for what they did. Hiccup held the door closed, staring into the black void that was Viggo’s eyes. 

“Hiccup! What are you doing?! Let me in!” Viggo sounded angry and was glaring at Hiccup as if that single look would make the younger man surrender. 

Hiccup didn’t say anything, just watched, pushing back against the man with as much force as he could muster. 

“Hiccup? Hiccup, please,” Viggo sounded fearful now as he looked back at the dozens upon dozens of the dead trudging towards him. The second horde was so thick and so plentiful that Hiccup couldn’t even see the ground where they walked. There were  _ hundreds.  _

Hiccup wanted to smile at the look of terror on the older man’s face as the first of the dead noticed him and turned their attention towards him. That was precisely how Hiccup felt when Drago and Viggo had him on his knees, bare and exposed to all those predators surrounding him. 

_ Now Viggo was the prey. _

Viggo was desperately slamming himself against the glass door, slowly pushing Hiccup back. He now had enough room to reach his arm in, trying to push the door further and get the rest of him in. Hiccup cursed under his breath, pushing harder as the older man now struggled to get his arm  _ out _ of the door so he could defend himself against the dead that were slowly encasing him. 

Viggo finally ripped his arm free and turned to fight the corpses surrounding him. Hiccup watched in sick satisfaction as the older man fought wildly to clear a way for him to run away. 

After Viggo had managed to weasel his way away from the mall entrance and Hiccup lost sight of him, the youth finally entered the mall, locking the revolving door so it would not spin and allow the dead to enter. 

Hiccup faced the darkness of the mall’s interior, feeling a cold weight settle like a vice around his heart.

Viggo was as good as dead. Hiccup knew it was the choice his father and Astrid would have made, but he couldn’t help the guilt that was already clawing at him. One part of him wanted to say good riddance and wash his hands clean, but the other, more prominent side, was in shock at what he had just done. 

Had he really just killed a man? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes... 
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!


	6. Fate of the Damned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update! Had exams this week and decided to push finishing this chapter till today. 
> 
> Thanks for all of the comments and kudos! It makes my day!
> 
> Warning!! This chapter contains noncon.

If Viggo wasn’t so livid at Hiccup’s betrayal, he might be fearful of the hordes slowly closing him in. As it was, Viggo knew there was no way he would allow himself to die before getting his revenge on that insolent _brat_. He would survive solely out of spite and would live to make Hiccup suffer. 

And, oh, would Hiccup suffer. Viggo was currently squeezed into the crawl space of a run-down fish house, the dead swarming around the building and _in_ the building, just underneath him. He had barely managed to break free from the crowds to even get into the crawl space and even though he can’t see anything in the darkness, he knows that he bares scratches and cuts given to him by the dead. He just hopes that the cuts aren’t deep enough and that the dead will leave and not linger in this shitty town for much longer. 

Until they left, however, he was stuck being perfectly still and silent for hopes of not gaining the dead’s attention. If they knew he was up here, they would never leave and never move on. Not until he was one of them. 

But that wasn’t going to happen. No, he was going to be patient and wait for them to leave so he could find Hiccup and get the boy back under his control. Hiccup’s newfound ruthlessness was... _exciting_ to say the least, and opened up a multitude of opportunities for the boy, but Viggo needed to be able to direct Hiccup’s hatred. To do that, he would need to break the boy. He needed to break him down and then recreate him in his own image. 

_His_ Hiccup. His to own and to thrive with.

Hiccup will learn all that Viggo can take from him and all what Viggo can give. He needs to be humbled and learn to _never_ defy Viggo again. Hiccup’s a smart boy, and Viggo knows that he won’t be so stupid as to challenge him again. Not after what Viggo has planned.

Unfortunately, a part of Viggo was beginning to despise Hiccup. It was making him lose motivation to keep the boy. Sure, the kid was good-looking and had immediately caught his attention, but was he really worth the trouble? Viggo had said yes to that question so many times in the past, against his better judgement. 

Every single day for the past several months he had woken up and spent another day dragging the child along, feeding him, splitting resources, enduring the endless questions and sarcasm and disobedience. He’s put up with mood swings, wallowing in self-pity, and even Hiccup physically attacking him. But Hiccup trying to kill him? Was that enough to make Viggo want to kill him? Absolutely. 

The only problem? People were a limited resource in today’s time and Viggo wasn’t sure whether he would find another boy. Hiccup was not only Viggo’s type physically, but he could also tell that the boy was smart. Even if Hiccup wasn’t Viggo’s to own, it would still be beneficial to have a mechanical engineer at the camp Viggo is sure Ryker has already started. 

So yes, he still wanted the boy alive. Tragically, he felt as if Hiccup would be the last boy for him. He wasn’t as disposable as his previous conquests because who knows whenever Viggo will be able to replace him. It’s why Viggo has treated Hiccup so gently and was so fearful of Hiccup leaving or managing to escape. But now? Viggo realizes his mistake. Hiccup is much too spirited to allow to roam free. No, he needs to be broken in immediately. It can’t wait until they reach Ryker’s camp. 

No, Viggo would break Hiccup the very first chance he got. Until then, he would sit in the cramped crawl space and bide his time, waiting for his opportunity to devour his prey.

* * *

It felt as if two entire days had passed before the growling and moaning of the dead had faded and left him in eerie silence. Viggo slowly exited the crawl space, dropping down to the floor of the filthy fish house with an audible pop in his knees. He cautiously cleared the fish house, ensuring all of the dead had left. 

His knees and back ached terribly from being cramped in such a small space for so long and for having to be entirely still. Even just standing in the abandoned building was causing him to feel light-headed. He hadn’t eaten for almost three days; the last time he ate was the breakfast he shared with Hiccup. He needed a change of clothes, food, and some _water._ He would have killed a man for just a single bottle of water. 

He walked to the door of the fish house, scanning the street and satisfied to only see one or two of the dead lingering in the town. He exited the building, wanting desperately to head straight for the mall and take his revenge, but he wasn’t actually sure whether he’d win the fight. 

Hiccup was armed and probably had access to food and water in the mall. He would be in much better shape than Viggo, who’s older age was really beginning to show with each and every step he took. He forced his body along, heading to a small house a few buildings over from the fish house. 

He would worry about Hiccup later. Right now, he needed to be a little selfish and tend to himself. He would have to ignore the fear that Hiccup would leave while Viggo wasn’t watching and doom Viggo to living out his life alone. 

He paused in the doorway to the home, looking over his shoulder to the mall that Hiccup was taking refuge in. 

Perhaps he could grab just a few supplies and then wait for Hiccup to show himself. He nodded, agreeing with himself, before entering the home and ransacking it for anything of value. He ended up with a clean change of clothes and a backpack half full with meager supplies. Hopefully, Hiccup would do much better so Viggo could take his supplies as well. 

He scarfed down what little food was left in the ugly little home, eyeing the small collection of weapons he had found. The father had apparently owned several pocket knives and even had a machete tucked away in his garage. This would give Viggo an advantage. Since Hiccup had turned on him and left him for dead, Viggo knew he would no longer be able to trick Hiccup and get him to willingly go to Rykers. No, he would either break the boy or drag him, kicking and screaming, for the remaining part of their trip. 

There would be no more holding back, no more sweet lies and subtle gestures. No, Viggo would take what he wanted for Hiccup and, eventually, he would get Hiccup to thank him for it. There would be no more hiding his true motives from the boy in fear of scaring him off. He was going to own Hiccup completely, mind, body, and soul. 

He had been trying for months to convince Hiccup he was the only thing keeping him alive and it had almost worked. Hiccup had been happy and content to help Viggo despite not knowing where they were going. Hiccup had been the most obedient and compliant he’d ever been while they were in that town. The child had even been so at peace he was _drawing_ for Viggo. Everything was perfect up until Drago _fucking_ Bludvist came and ruined all the work he had done. 

Well, some of that fault was for Viggo. He had revealed his hand to Hiccup because he had lost faith and thought that their game was over. He was quite sure Drago was going to kill him, but apparently the man was ignorant enough to not see him as a threat. Not only that, the man failed to see Hiccup as a threat, too. However, to be fair, Viggo had overlooked the boy as well.

Now Viggo knew that he wasn’t the only player in their duo. _Hiccup_ had proven himself to be quite the adversary when he somehow managed to escape what had appeared to be a stronghold and secure both of their freedoms. Sure, Drago and his men underestimating Hiccup and being generally moronic had aided the boy greatly, but still, the boy was much more dangerous than Viggo had accredited for. Before Viggo even had the time to contemplate how he would adapt his strategy to account for Hiccup being more than just a foolhardy pawn, Hiccup turned on him as well. Hiccup was playing to win, not just to survive, and something about that thrilled Viggo. Once Hiccup was firmly pulled back into place, Viggo knew the boy would be a great asset and an even better toy.

Viggo stabbed one of his newly acquired knives into the table, excited at the prospect of being able to force the boy’s will to bend and to submit to him. He always loved breaking in new toys, and Hiccup promised to be a challenge.

Viggo had already paid the price for underestimating Hiccup and not seeing him as the player that he was. The boy wasn’t just a piece to manipulate and sacrifice. He was another player and Viggo knows that the next time he encounters Hiccup, he will have to leave the boy with no choices, no options, no free will, only what Viggo wants. What better way to control a free spirit than to clip its wings? 

Hiccup will learn to never leave Viggo because the man will ensure that the boy needs him. Hiccup will be humbled, _crippled_ to pay for his betrayal. Hiccup would lose a piece in the game for retribution to what he had tried to do to Viggo

Hiccup would be _his._ Viggo would win their war of wills and take Hiccup’s mind as spoils of war. Just as Viggo noticed he was becoming aroused at the thought of breaking the boy, a small movement caught his eye through the living room window. At first, he thought it was a bird, seeing as it was much too quick to be one of the dead. He peered closer through the window, feeling a rush of adrenaline at seeing his prize darting away from the mall and towards a vehicle. He was heading directly away from Viggo, adding even more distance between them. 

Elated at the prospect of _finally_ not having to hold back on the boy, he stepped out of the dingy little home and turned to where his boy was trying to get inside of a locked vehicle. He took his time approaching, imagining just how he was going to make Hiccup pay. 

_Game on, dear._

* * *

To say Hiccup wasn’t scared shitless would be a lie. 

He was out on his own for the very first time in his life, during the _apocalypse_ no less, and was without any supplies or a real plan. And he was seriously starting to lose it. 

He had just _killed_ a man. A man that had not only kept him alive and cared for him for _months_ , but one that Hiccup wasn’t even entirely sure was guilty. 

Sure, he had hurt Hiccup really badly, even if not physically, but what if he was being honest when he said he only did it to survive? 

Hiccup had tormented himself with these questions for the past two days that he had been trapped in the mall and yet he still didn’t have a good answer. Hiccup was a murderer. Hell, even if the man _was_ guilty and had bad intentions, Hiccup could have just left. He didn’t have to basically _feed_ the man to the dead. 

All he knows for sure is that there’s no way Viggo survived two hordes, especially when they were both that massive, and Hiccup didn’t want to stick around to find his body. Even if it meant leaving this town before getting anything more than the clothes on his back, tennis shoes, and small bag with a few things he found in the mall. He just needed to keep heading away from Drago and hope that he’d stumble unto another town or something. He didn’t have a map, but there was no way he was going to stay in this town for a moment more than he had to. 

What he did to Viggo had been cruel and Hiccup just hoped that once he got away from this godforsaken town that he’d be able to push away the guilt that was trying to drown him. 

He was going to get a vehicle and drive as far away as he could before eventually running out of gas. God, what a great plan that was. Not many moving pieces that’s for sure. 

As soon as he finally dared to exit the mall, he spotted a vehicle at the edge of the mall’s parking lot and ran to it. There were only a few of the dead, and Hiccup tried to avoid them instead of confronting them. The jeweled sword in his hand was awkward and heavy, and he wasn’t too confident in being able to actually fight off more than a handful of these things at a time. He got to the truck and tried the door, but, _of course_ , it was locked. 

There wasn’t another vehicle that seemed decent in the parking lot. Most of the ones he could see either had busted in windows, missing doors, or their hoods up as if they had either broken down or been stripped for parts. 

He walked around to the passenger side and tried that door as well, but it was also locked. Hiccup sighed, setting his bag and sword on the hood of the car while debating whether or not to try another car or bust this vehicle's windows out when he suddenly felt a thick arm wrap around his throat. He yelled, trying to push what he thought was one of the dead off of him. The arm around his throat tightened and pulled him back to the other person’s chest. 

The arm was strong and _warm_ and he hadn’t been bitten yet. He wasn’t being attacked by one of the dead; he was being attacked by another person. For some reason, this seemed slightly scarier. He reached for the sword sitting less than a foot out of his reach, but the person dragged them back a few steps.

Hiccup cursed at the person, fighting to pull away, but the arm held him steadfast and was soon cutting off his oxygen. He angrily kicked at whoever was holding him and dug his fingernails into the person’s arm deep enough to draw blood as he desperately thrashed. He continued struggling, trying to ignore how his lungs burned for oxygen and his vision began to darken. 

All of his fighting ceased when he heard a dark chuckle. The breath of the person tickled his ear and Hiccup shuddered, feeling almost sick with fear at who he suspected was holding him. 

“Hello, Hiccup, dear. I bet you’d thought you’d never hear my voice again,” Viggo whispered into his ear. 

Hiccup felt panic start to rise within him, but also a confusing sense of relief. _He wasn’t a murderer. He hadn’t killed Viggo._

He didn’t know whether he should be happy that the man was alive or regret not killing Viggo himself. Maybe that depended on what was the man going to do with him? 

Viggo pressed his nose into Hiccup’s hair and inhaled deeply, grinding into the younger man. Hiccup felt his eyes water as his question was answered. He had been _right_. Viggo _had_ intended to hurt him. He was just like Drago. 

Hiccup tried to process this discovery as Viggo continued nuzzling into Hiccup’s head. 

After a moment to gather himself, Hiccup did the only thing he could think of. He pulled his head forward and away from Viggo before slamming his head back into Viggo’s face. He heard a sick crunch and then he was released from the older man’s hold. He fell to the ground gasping for air and trying to crawl away, before getting to his feet and running. He ducked under the outstretched hands of one of the dead and continued to run blindly away, not even looking back to see if the man was following him. 

He was just about to exit the mall parking lot when he was tackled to the ground. Viggo landed on top of him, shoving the air out of Hiccup’s lungs. He fought desperately, but since he was face down on the pavement, he couldn’t push the heavier man off. 

“God, you are _insufferable,”_ Viggo growled at him, grabbing a fistful of his hair and shoving Hiccup’s face to the concrete. 

Hiccup bit back a cry and continued to try and push himself off the ground despite Viggo’s weight. He froze when he heard a chorus of moans much closer than they should be. 

“ _Christ._ Stay _put,_ ” Viggo said before climbing off, leaning all of his weight on Hiccup’s face to do so. Hiccup rolled on his back and looked up to see Viggo holding the jewelled sword that Hiccup stole from Drago. He cut down the dead that had remained in the town and were getting too close for comfort. 

Hiccup turned away from the man, beginning to push himself to his feet to run away again, but only made it a few steps before a large hand grabbed his ankle and yanked him back across the asphalt. 

He cried out, trying to claw into the pavement to get away before turning on his back to face the older man. Hiccup tried to sit up, but Viggo straddled him before shoving his chest back to the ground. 

Hiccup pushed and shoved at the older man, but his hands were soon caught and pulled above his head. He tried to thrash and fight his way free of the hold, desperate to never go through what he went through with Drago again. 

He looked around, noting that Viggo had left the sword out of his reach and only had the machete that was strapped to the older man’s waist. Hiccup didn’t think he’d even have the room to unsheathe the damn thing. He was defenseless. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to push Viggo off, but he still tried, fighting desperately until he collapsed back to the ground after several minutes of fruitless struggles. Great, now not only was he defenseless, but he had just exhausted himself for no reason.

They sat there for several long moments, Hiccup panting and shaking, trying to look anywhere but at the other man’s face and Viggo staring at Hiccup with a predatory gaze. Hiccup finally forced himself to meet the man’s gaze, unnerved by the excitement he saw in the man’s dark eyes.

He flinched as he felt a drop of blood from Viggo’s broken nose hit his face.

“V-Viggo, I-I,” Hiccup was cut off as one of the two hands that had been pinning his arms snaked its way down to wrap itself around Hiccup’s throat. 

“I’ve no need for your pathetic excuses, my dear. You know just what you did, and now, you will learn the consequences for such _despicable_ behavior,” Viggo growled, pressing harder against Hiccup’s throat. 

Hiccup tried yet again to tiredly struggle underneath the man, knowing there was no possible way he would be able to unseat the man pinning him to the pavement. He soon felt his vision darken and his lungs burn in agony in their frantic search for air. Just as he felt sure that Viggo was going to kill him, the man released, letting Hiccup gasp and desperately draw in lungfuls of air.

Viggo sighed dramatically, while using the same hand he had just been strangling Hiccup with to trace his cheekbone. “What am I going to do with you, child?” Viggo asked while trailing his fingers down Hiccup’s face and over his bruised throat. Hiccup tried to turn away from the attention, still trying to catch his breath and get the black dots out of his vision. “I never would have imagined you’d be so crude and ignorant. That stunt you pulled just proves that I should have broken you long ago.”

Hiccup couldn’t help the sob that escaped him as Viggo ground his hard length against him. He tried yet again to struggle to escape the man on top of him, but all he managed was to make Viggo angry. The older man lowered himself, mouth kissing the corner of Hiccup’s mouth and Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away and clenching his teeth. 

Viggo simply moved his mouth to kiss and nip its way down Hiccup’s exposed throat, chuckling when he felt Hiccup shiver under him. 

“P-please Viggo, I-” Hiccup started, only to be cut off as Viggo bit down hard on the expanse of his throat. Hiccup cried out, again struggling to get away.

He tried to steady his breathing and ignore the panic rising in him as Viggo nuzzled into his throat and ran his hand underneath Hiccup’s shirt. 

_This couldn’t happen again._

He swallowed, turning his head as far away as he could, ready to try and block out everything around him. He couldn’t go through this again.

“Mmm, you’re shaking, my dear,” Viggo said while kissing along his jawline. “I haven’t even done anything yet, Hiccup. Honestly, I wonder how you could possibly think you could survive on your own, out here. You’re much too pathetic and weak to survive on your own. You need someone to take care of you, hmm?” the man said while unbuckling his belt and slowly pulling it free. “The only way you can be useful is by spreading those pretty legs of yours,” the man rumbled in a deep voice, dipping his head back down nipping Hiccup’s ear.

Hiccup shuddered, still intent on blocking the man out and just surviving this one moment. He could survive this one thing. _Just keep breathing._ He repeated over and over in his head like a mantra. _Just survive._

He felt the hand pinning his arms over his head loosen and Hiccup immediately tried to pull his arms down to push Viggo away, but then warm leather was being wrapped around his wrists. 

He fought ferociously, trying to kick and headbutt and pull his arms free before Viggo could tie them down, but Viggo simply let him fight and kick and focused intently on securing his arms. 

Viggo fastened the belt around his wrists and then stood up, pulling Hiccup along with him. The man picked up the discarded sword and started walking, dragging Hiccup across the concrete as he fought and spit and cursed, kicking and thrashing. Just as Hiccup managed to get his feet underneath him to stand, Viggo pulled him closer, punching him in the gut and pushing the air out of Hiccup’s lungs. 

The older man shoved Hiccup back to the ground, dragging him a few more inches across the rough asphalt as Hiccup tried to get his lungs to remember how to breathe.

Hiccup was confused at what Viggo was trying to accomplish until his hands brushed across cool metal. He looked upwards and saw Viggo securing the belt around a street sign, tying Hiccup in place. Hiccup finally managed to gasp for air, struggling once again. 

“V-Viggo, please!” Hiccup begged in a breathy and scratchy voice upon realizing that his hands were tied above his head. Now he really _was_ defenseless. How could he fend the man off without his hands? Hiccup couldn’t help the tears that escaped him as fear clawed its way through him. 

He tried to turn his head, and saw the man taking down a few of the dead that had wandered towards them. 

Hiccup strained against the leather belt attaching him to the street sign with no use. He _despised_ being so helpless, especially in front of people like Drago and Viggo.

Speaking of the devil, the man wandered back to where Hiccup was, taking his time to set the sword back on the ground before ignoring Hiccup to instead look out over the town they were in. The man seemed to be trying to catch his breath, hands resting on his hips as he faced away from Hiccup.

Finally, Viggo turned around and took the two steps separating them before lowering himself and trying to force HIccup’s legs apart so he could sit between them. Hiccup, predictably, tried to kick the older man and cursed as he only missed Viggo’s face by an _inch._

The man shot him a warning glare before finally managing to force the boy’s legs apart and taking his place in between them. Viggo then sat back on his heels, looking down at Hiccup with a sadistic grin on his face. Hiccup could feel the man’s dark eyes looking at him and appraising him like he was a piece of meat.

He forced himself to glare at the predator, hoping to keep up a semblance of dignity and bravery in the situation. “W-what do you want, Viggo?” Hiccup asked, hating how his breathless and shaky voice betrayed him.

“I want _you_ , dear boy. And here you are, all sweaty and breathless before me,” Viggo gloated as he reached to touch Hiccup’s face. “How beautiful-” Viggo started before being interrupted by Hiccup trying to bite the hand near his face. The older man backhanded him, and Hiccup bit back a curse of anger. Viggo grabbed his chin and forced Hiccup to meet his eye.

“God, it is going to be such a pleasure to break you, to break that strong spirit of yours,” Viggo said while looking deeply into the green eyes glaring hatefully at him, hand still holding the boy’s chin in a bruising grip. “What do you say, Hiccup? Are you going to submit to me willfully? Or by force?”

Hiccup went to go spit at the man, but Viggo seemed to sense this and turned the boy’s head away at the last second. 

“Hm, that’s what I thought. Oh well,” Viggo said before moving his hand from Hiccup’s chin to his throat. “More fun for me.”

Hiccup felt Viggo’s massive hand wrap threateningly around his already sore and bruised throat and squeeze once before letting go. Hiccup wanted to look to see what Viggo was going to do next, but instead he kept his head turned away and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. He tugged for the umpteenth time against his restraints, but all he was accomplishing was hurting his wrists.

He felt his shirt being lifted and then heard the sound of it being cut. Viggo continued cutting and pulling at the shirt until it was nothing more than shreds sitting beside them.

Hiccup felt chillbumps cover his exposed skin and his eyes watered. 

_This was really happening._

He tugged again on the leather bonds, ignoring the sharp pains shooting through his wrists as he pulled. He felt the older man’s hands trace over his chest and his abdomen before being followed by the man’s lips. Hiccup choked back a sob, struggling to keep quiet and not give the man the satisfaction of hearing him cry. Viggo licked and kissed his way up Hiccup’s body, pausing to give special attention to his chest. 

Hiccup bit down hard on his lip, trying to distract himself from the man above him as he continued to pull harshly against his restraints. Viggo worked his way up to his neck and jaw, slowing down and taking his time sucking marks into the sensitive skin exposed to him. 

Hiccup shuddered, and Viggo gently shushed him, running his hands soothingly up and down his sides as he continued to kiss and nip over the expanse of throat. “You’re fine,” Viggo breathed in Hiccup’s ear in an attempt to mollify the boy below him.

Hiccup took several deep breaths, trying to believe the man, and finally opened his eyes only to see the face of one of the dead. 

“Viggo!” Hiccup yelled and the older man was off of him in an instance and taking down the corpse that had been uncharacteristically quiet in its approach. 

The older man seemed furious at the interruption but his eyes softened as he turned back to the boy tied to the ground and sprawled below him. 

“I guess we need to speed things along, hm?” Viggo asked while returning to his previous position. Hiccup wanted to kick out at the man again, but his legs were trembling and he couldn’t quite get them to cooperate.

“I mean, we could always reschedule. I-I’m open to suggestions,” Hiccup said with a small shrug.

Viggo looked at him with a small grin before shaking his head. “What am I going to do with you?” He mumbled to where Hiccup could barely hear him. “I wanted nothing more than to get you somewhere safe and woo you into my bed, dear. But this is what happens when you try to kill someone. You have to pay their price. Now, let’s get on with it, eh?” Viggo said while beginning to unbutton Hiccup’s clothes and pull them off. 

“S-so this is you punishing me?” Hiccup asked. Any sense of comfort Hiccup may have had was quickly torn away as he lay bare below the older man. Viggo ran his rough hands along Hiccup’s exposed legs and Hiccup had to close his eyes and turn his head away once again to keep from begging the man to stop.

“Of course not. This,” Viggo said as he traced his fingers over Hiccup’s leg, “is simply me introducing you to your new way of life. You need to accept it, to _submit_ to it,” Viggo stated while grinding his clothed length against Hiccup’s bare bottom. “Your punishment for trying to kill me and running away will be later.”

Hiccup shivered at the words, wondering what twisted thing this man considered as punishment. Was raping him not enough? He had to hurt him _more_?

Viggo’s hands ran all the way up to Hiccup’s waist before smoothing their way back down towards his calves. “You’re so gorgeous, dear,” Viggo breathed before pushing Hiccup’s legs to the boy’s chest and lifting him until he was just inches away from the boy’s hole. 

“Oh gods,” Hiccup breathed in a distressed voice and Viggo stifled a laugh at the boy’s discomfort. 

He shushed Hiccup, running another hand soothingly across the boy’s body before lowering his head and beginning to kiss the skin around the boy’s rim. Hiccup stilled under Viggo’s administrations, most likely confused, but yelped as if burnt as Viggo licked a long stripe across the rim.

Viggo got a better grip on Hiccup’s waist before diving down to tease his rim with licks and kisses. He felt the boy begin to relax into the kisses and so Viggo dipped his tongue further into the boy’s body, pleased to hear a confused and quiet sound of pleasure from Hiccup. 

Viggo took as much time as he dared to prepare the boy, all the while intently listening for the sounds of the dead. He ran one of his hands up to Hiccup’s face and pressed them against his lips. Hiccup seemed to not understand, but allowed Viggo to press the two fingers into his mouth. 

Viggo pulled back after a moment of Hiccup not doing anything. “Suck, dear. I have to stretch you,” Viggo said while glancing around, happy to only see two of the dead still halfway across the massive lot. It would be quite some time before they were of any concern to him. 

Hiccup seemed about to spit out the fingers or bite them, and start fighting anew, so Viggo returned to the boy’s hole and continued to give him pleasure. After several moments of this, Hiccup finally began to suck on the fingers and Viggo stifled a moan. He knew _exactly_ how amazing that mouth was around his cock.

After allowing Hiccup to suckle on his fingers until they were coated in saliva, Viggo retracted them before bringing them down to trace around Hiccup’s rim. Hiccup stiffened and Viggo leaned forward to bring their lips together. 

Surprisingly, Hiccup didn’t turn away and allowed Viggo to kiss him. He was still pulling against his restraints and seemed pretty distressed, overall, but Viggo took the kiss as a small victory. He continued to kiss the boy, slowly circling the rim and giving him a moment to relax. 

Hiccup finally snapped and jerked his head away from the kiss, beginning to lift his hips and trying to pull away from the prodding fingers. 

Viggo shushed him before he could start to put up a real fight. Viggo returned to kiss and suckle on the boy’s neck rather than his lips. “Relax, dear. I’m not hurting you,” Viggo spoke into the bruised skin below him, and Hiccup did relax, if only slightly. Viggo pressed the fingers into Hiccup, loving the sharp gasp that tore from the boy at the obstrussion.

Viggo slowly pumped the two fingers in and out, listening intently as Hiccup gasped and moaned breathily below him. “Good boy,” Viggo said with a kiss to Hiccup’s neck, complementing the boy’s good behavior. To reward him, Viggo sat back on his heels and, after watching his fingers stretch Hiccup’s rim for several moments, reached down and grasped Hiccup’s manhood, proud to see it already half-hard. 

Hiccup gasped loudly and twitched in his hand and Viggo pumped him in time with his fingers. After several long moments and working Hiccup almost to orgasm, Viggo deemed Hiccup prepared enough and unbuttoned his own pants, taking out his achingly hard length.

Hiccup tensed and squirmed uncomfortably, but Viggo did his best to soothe him as he lined himself up. He pushed in, continuing to pump Hiccup and the boy cried out, not in pain, but in fear, his erection dying slightly. Viggo paused halfway in, and he leaned forward, bracing himself with an arm beside Hiccup’s head as he continued to push inwards. 

He leaned down and kissed Hiccup, the boy’s mouth open in either a silent cry or moan as Viggo bottomed out. He released Hiccup’s manhood and reached forward to cradle Hiccup’s head. He continued to kiss the boy, dipping his tongue into the other’s mouth. He moaned at the feeling of Hiccup kissing him back slightly, and pulled out just a tad before pumping back in. 

He continued to kiss Hiccup and massage his scalp, and once the boy completely relaxed around Viggo’s cock, he pulled back, sitting back on his heels. He looked down at the flushed boy below him, and grabbed the boy’s waist before pulling almost all of the way out before sinking back into the tight heat encasing him. 

Now that Hiccup was stretched and relaxed enough not to tear, Viggo could finally stop holding back. He pulled out, realigning himself and watching as his cock was swallowed back Hiccup’s tight hole.

They both moaned, and it only spurred Viggo on more. He began to thrust into the pliant body below him, picking a punishing pace. 

Hiccup initially relaxed into the movements, taking some semblance of pleasure from it, but as Viggo began to go faster and harsher, Hiccup’s moans turned into cries and he slowly began his struggles again. 

“V-Vigg-” Hiccup started before having the breath pushed out of him at a harsh thrust. Viggo leaned back over him, bending Hiccup into an uncomfortable position as the man began to brutally thrust into him. Hiccup cried out, feeling tears prick his eyes as what had begun to be pleasurable had quickly turned into painful.

The slow burn and stretch of Viggo’s cock from earlier now felt as if it were burning him, the friction too much at such a harsh pace. Hiccup cried out again but was stifled as Viggo’s hand went back to his throat. 

“Hiccup-” Viggo panted, eyes boring into the smaller man’s tear-filled gaze. 

The pain continued, and Hiccup rested his head back against the asphalt, feeling tears stream down his face as he squeezed his eyes shut. He distantly heard a moan that definitely _wasn’t_ Viggo and opened his eyes to see both the blurry figure of Viggo over him and the silhouette of the dead only a few feet away from them. 

Hiccup stared past Viggo at the dead, but, this time, didn’t warn the man. 

_Let the bastard get bit._ Forget the fact that Hiccup would be tied down and eventually be devoured too. At least Viggo would go down, too.

The dead stumbled closer and Viggo finally ground himself into Hiccup, releasing his seed with a quiet moan. 

“Good boy,” Viggo panted before slowly pulling out and taking his time to button himself back into his pants. “Now, how about your punishment for trying to leave, hm?” Viggo said just as the dead’s hand brushed the older man’s shoulder. Viggo grabbed the thing’s hand with a grin before pulling it down. Viggo grabbed the things head, and, before Hiccup could react, pressed the thing’s teeth flush with Hiccup’s ankle. 

Hiccup screamed as he felt the rotten teeth rip into his flesh, sealing his fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me, lol. I promise I don't hate Hiccup, it just seems that way sometimes.
> 
> Let me know what you think! 
> 
> Also, I plan to do some one-shots in the HTTYD fandom; let me know if you have any ideas!
> 
> Thanks for reading, until next time!


	7. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, here's another one. I'm excited to have gotten this done today because I get an art tablet in the mail tomorrow and will probably be busy for the next several days. 
> 
> I plan to add art to some of the later chapters!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Hiccup could feel Viggo’s rough hands handle him and a deep voice speaking to him, trying to soothe him. He pulled against the restraints holding his arms above his head, wanting desperately to sit up and see how bad his leg was. 

He couldn’t see his leg, but he could see Viggo. The man was tying something around Hiccup’s leg and then twisting until it was painfully tight. Hiccup tried to speak, wanting to ask how bad it was and why the hell he would do such a thing.

Before Hiccup could get his voice to work, the man hefted the ruby-encrusted sword in the air, giving Hiccup only enough time to gasp in fright, before he swiftly brought the sword down on Hiccup’s leg. 

Hiccup screamed as the sword bit through his flesh, and pain overwhelmed his senses. He could feel the sword lodged in his bone, and he gasped, trying to breathe as tears streamed down his face.

What was Viggo  _ doing?! _

He pulled ruthlessly against what was tying his arms down, feeling the bones in his wrists shift as he fought. He had to get away from this  _ psychopath. _

Viggo was jerking the sword, grunting with effort, as he tried to dislodge it from where the blade was lodged in Hiccup’s bone. Finally, the man succeeded despite Hiccup’s cries and pleads, and he raised the now bloody sword again. 

Hiccup was babbling nonsense pleas, just praying for the man above him to  _ stop.  _ He was ignored and watched in horror as the man brought it down again, sending blood spurting across the older man’s face. Hiccup cried out again as he felt his bone break and give way to the sword, trying again to plea with the bloody man above him, but not being able to form the words in time as the man raised the sword yet again. 

Hiccup screamed before the sword hit and saw darkness cover most of his vision, but he tried to blink it away and focus on Viggo. He needed to get the man to stop. 

“V-Viggo…” Hiccup started, but the man ignored him, instead, raising the sword again. 

  
  


Hiccup mumbled sleepily as he was lifted in the air. He was pressed against a warm chest, but it was also wet with something. He tried to move his arms to feel why the person carrying him was wet, but they were stuck together for some reason, and he pulled them in front of him to see why. They were tied together by a belt, which didn’t make sense until Hiccup remembered that Viggo had tied him down. Hiccup tried to tilt his head up to look at the person carrying him, glad to recognize the figure as Viggo rather than a stranger. 

Some part of him, however,  _ knew _ that he should be very scared of the man, but he couldn’t quite piece together why.

Viggo’s face was all bloody, and he looked strangely at ease as he carried Hiccup. Hiccup tried to ask what happened and why he was in such horrible pain, but his voice was rough and scratchy, and his throat hurt. He gave up, instead, looking back to his hands. His right hand was now bloody from where it had rubbed against Viggo’s chest while the man carried him. 

Viggo was wet with  _ blood _ ?

Hiccup frowned, trying to figure out what had happened, but it was hard to comprehend what all was going on through the pain slowly consuming him. Blackness swirled in his vision, but he tried to blink it away and focus. He listened to the man,  _ Viggo _ ’s, rushed footsteps and focused on them to try and edge away the darkness. The footsteps slowed down and came to a stop, and Hiccup groaned as pain flared through him once again as he felt his leg being jostled.

There was that deep voice again. _Viggo_ ,  Hiccup had to remind himself, shushing him as he was set down on the ground and leaned against something. Hiccup held his tied hands close to his chest and tried to look at his surroundings. His gaze, however, was immediately entrapped on the gruesome sight before him. He was naked, and his leg was… gone. Several inches below his knee was a jagged cut that was bleeding despite the tourniquet. 

Viggo set a bloody sword beside him, and Hiccup stared at it, the memory of how he lost his leg filtering through his foggy mind. 

_ Viggo had  _ taken _ his leg. _

Hiccup’s eyes stayed trained on the sword, and he shuddered at the faint memory of Viggo using the sword to cut through bone and flesh. The man removed his leg because… because… Hiccup had left, and Viggo didn’t want him to leave again. Hiccup had been bitten. Viggo made him be bitten. 

Hiccup took a shaky breath, shifting his gaze back to his leg and trying to ease the urge to vomit. His mouth tasted of copper, and his stomach was doing somersaults, and Hiccup knew he wouldn’t be able to keep the meager contents of his stomach down. He fell to the side, using his tied arms to support him as he vomited. His wrists hurt, but he forced them to support his weight as he continued to purge himself of both his stomach contents and the horrid memories now clogging his mind. 

He felt Viggo’s hands on him, and despite his efforts to twist away from the man, was soon forced into a much better position, the weight taken off of his wrists as he dry heaved. Viggo was rubbing his back, and shushing him as Hiccup continued dry heaving. He shuddered and vomited again just at the feel of the man’s bloody hands trying to soothe him. He couldn’t even process how miserable and caged he felt. 

“C’mon, Hiccup. You can rest soon,” Viggo promised as he righted Hiccup again, tilting his head up and wiping his mouth with his own sleeve. 

Viggo leaned Hiccup against the tire again and left. Hiccup turned to watch the older man as he tried to break into the same truck Hiccup had been trying to get into earlier. If only Hiccup had managed to get the hell away from the man. He wouldn’t have been violated and then crippled  _ for life _ .

Now, he might actually  _ have _ to stay with the man just to survive.

The bloody sword only a few inches away caught his attention again, and Hiccup had the overwhelming urge to  _ use _ it. He reached for it with his bound hands, pulling it closer to him. It scraped across the pavement, catching Viggo’s attention. 

Hiccup tried to ignore the feel of the man’s eyes on him. He wouldn’t be able to kill the man unless Viggo was caught off guard; he was far too weak and shaky to take the man on. He needed the man to continue unlocking the truck so Hiccup could catch him by surprise and kill him before he had a chance to fight back. 

Viggo, however, was watching Hiccup carefully, waiting for his next move. Hiccup refused to look at the man’s calculating eyes, not wanting to bring any more suspicion upon himself. Instead, he decided to use the sword to try and cut through his bonds, hoping Viggo would assume that’s why he went for the sword in the first place. 

Viggo watched him for several more long moments as Hiccup tried to position the sword to cut through the belt before turning away and continuing to try and unlock the truck. Hiccup watched the man closely while slowly and silently pulling himself to his feet. 

He knew he wouldn’t survive very long without Viggo, especially while he was wounded, but he didn’t care. He would either be too slow to find shelter and be devoured by one of the dead or would end up holed up somewhere where he would most likely die of thirst or infection. But none of that mattered if Viggo went down too.

Hiccup didn’t want to survive. He wanted revenge. 

Once he was on his feet, or  _ foot _ , he took a moment to quell the dizziness and nausea that rose in him as he stood. There were spots dancing in his vision, but he couldn’t wait any longer, or he might lose his chance. He raised the sword with his hands, intending to bring it down on Viggo’s head. 

He was ready. He felt this same sword lodged in his own bone; he can bear to feel it lodged in someone else’s. Especially if it was  _ Viggo’s  _ skull. 

Just as Hiccup tensed, ready to bring the sword down and end the other man’s life, the older man turned to look at him with a smile, waiting for his next move.

They stood there, wills locked in an internal battle, Hiccup holding a raised sword over Viggo, and Viggo watching him with a smug grin on his face.

“Well, dear?” Viggo said as he fully turned around to face Hiccup, hands clasped behind his back. “What shall it be? Are you going to kill me, and by doing so, kill yourself? Please, take your best shot, my dear. I promise, it won’t end well for you,” Viggo said as he stepped closer. 

Hiccup tensed, ready to strike. “Do you not remember your punishment for the last time you tried to kill me? Are you  _ that _ eager to have me between your legs again? Perhaps I should blind you. Surely you wouldn’t be able to attempt murder if you couldn’t  _ see, _ ” Viggo threatened with a mocking laugh. Hiccup hesitated, the nightmare of all that has transpired in the past day flashing through his mind.

“You best make sure you don’t miss this time, dear,” Viggo warned, his dark eyes boring into Hiccup’s. 

His hands were beginning to shake, and the ants crawling around in his vision were becoming more apparent. He didn’t have much longer before he needed to decide.

“Well, Hiccup?” Viggo finally said, stepping closer yet, and Hiccup tried and failed to move backward. This attempted retreat made Viggo smile even bigger, and Hiccup, admitting defeat, begrudgingly lowered the sword. 

He’d be okay with dying, but there was no way in hell he would ever endure what he did today, again.

Viggo stepped even closer and carefully pulled the sword from Hiccup’s grip before grabbing the front of Hiccup’s shirt and pulling him into a rough kiss. 

Hiccup stumbled as he was pulled, relying on Viggo to stay standing as the man crushed their lips together. Hiccup pushed against the man with his bound hands but didn’t have the leverage to push the man off. 

Viggo pulled back, a dark smile on his lips. “I’m glad to see your spirit is far from broken, Hiccup. You’ll need it if you are to survive the next few hours,” Viggo said as he reached for the backseat door of the truck and tugged it open.

Hiccup frowned, wondering just how long the man had the truck unlocked. Was that all just some test? Leaving the sword within Hiccup’s reach and pretending to unlock a truck that he had already unlocked? 

Viggo grabbed Hiccup’s arm and guided him to the backseat of the truck. The man helped Hiccup get in, despite Hiccup’s curses and shoves to get the man off, and then tied the end of the belt to the door of the backseat just like he had with the road sign earlier. 

“Try and lay down, dear. You should rest; we have a long trip ahead of us,” Viggo suggested with a grin before shutting the door and walking around to the driver’s side. He tossed the sword and both of their bags of gear into the passenger seat before starting the truck. 

Despite the hatred Hiccup felt for the man, he did what he said, if only because he felt like he was going to pass out again. When he did finally position himself right to lay down, the spots in his vision began to fade and the nausea abated.

_ Great. _ He was tied down, stuck in the backseat of a truck with the man he hated most in the world. Hiccup began to wonder whether he should have just taken the shot, damn the consequences.

“So-so, are you just going to let me bleed out in your backseat?” Hiccup mumbled, and Viggo laughed. Hiccup shifted, testing the restraints. He had to get out of here.

“I’m actually more worried about shock at the moment, dear. We’ll be home before you bleed out, and then we can receive actual medical care,” Viggo said as he put the truck in drive and pulled them onto the road. They had only been driving for a few moments before he pulled over and put the truck in park. Viggo exited the truck, leaving Hiccup alone just long enough for him to grab several comforters off of the beds of a house and bring them back to the truck.

He opened the door opposite of where Hiccup was tied down, and Hiccup tried to sit up, fearful that Viggo would take advantage of him being tied down and injured.

Instead, Viggo ripped one of the blankets up and tied it around the stump of Hiccup’s leg, despite Hiccup cursing and kicking at him, before laying the rest of the blankets on top of Hiccup’s naked body.

“Let me know if you begin to feel cold, Hiccup. In two hours, I’ll have to loosen the tourniquet to allow some blood flow to the tissues below, so they don’t die, alright? Until then, you rest,” Viggo ordered before shutting the door and pulling himself back into the driver’s seat. 

Soon, they were back on the road, wounded, and with no real supplies. Hiccup doubted they would ever make it to wherever Viggo wanted to take them. ‘Home’ he had called it. Hiccup sighed, letting his eyes fall shut. It’d probably be days on the road. They’d most likely starve, or maybe he would die of infection, first.

God, he should have tried to kill Viggo when he had the chance; he might not get another one.

He really just wanted his dad right now. His dad would have  _ never _ let any of this happen. Viggo wouldn’t stand a chance against Stoick. No, not even close. But his dad wasn’t here,  _ none  _ of his friends were here. How come the only people to survive were the evil and the lucky?

Fishlegs, his first real friend, had always been so kind, especially to Hiccup even before the rest of their friend group had accepted him. When Hiccup was the laughing stock of their school, Fishlegs had always been kind to him, and maybe that was because the kid was a nerd, too. He used to be picked on because he knew so much about plants, but, in truth, he was the only thing that kept them alive for the few weeks they had wandered through the woods just by knowing what was safe to eat and what was dangerous. Hell, he even helped them find plants to be used as  _ medicine _ .

And Snotlout? Sure, he wasn’t the nicest to Hiccup, and he sure as hell wasn’t as god-like as he liked to make himself out to be, but he was loyal when it came down to it. Hiccup would feel a lot safer having him watching his back.

Ruff and Tuff, even though often proven to be a massive pain in his ass, were always helpful in making light of even the worst situations. They were what kept them all from succumbing to their own losses and kept them moving. Without them, Hiccup isn’t sure whether he would have been able to move past his father’s death.

And Astrid… she was so incredibly strong and was what empowered them all to fight. She is the one that kept them united. All he did was mope and stop fights from breaking out every now and again, but her? She not only kept him from falling apart, but she ensured everyone was accounted for and strategized to try and find a safe place to live. Or,  _ safer, _ at least. 

They were all so important and contributed so much, yet they all somehow died before he did. 

He deserved to die before all of them. There was no doubt in his mind about that. All he’s been useful for so far has been to be a bed-warmer for  _ Viggo _ . When that monster appeared in the town where Ruff, Tuff, and he had been scrounging for supplies, Hiccup initially didn’t like him, but he never suspected the man of such evil. And that was his mistake, and he was paying for it dearly.

The day Viggo appeared signaled the quick downfall of what was left of his family. Ruff and Tuff didn’t even make it out of the town with the cursed man, and Snoutlout didn’t survive the horde that followed them once he and Hiccup managed to escape. And poor Astrid, who died from a scratch that she never even told Hiccup that she’d had. Now that he thinks about it, this was very uncharacteristic of her, despite her desire to want to handle her own problems alone. If there was a chance of her turning, Hiccup knew she would have told him and probably would have even asked him to kill her. She always put those around her first, even if at times it didn’t show because of her short temper.

But still, why didn’t he tell her she’d been hurt by one of the dead? It’s unlike her to put others at risk like that.

Hiccup paused for a moment as he considered the deaths of his family, before forcing himself back into a sitting position, dislodging the blankets resting on top of him and disturbing his injury. Astrid would have told him… And Ruff, Tuff, and Snoutlout’s deaths on top of her suspicious one? All four of them dying in such a short span of time and  _ directly _ after Viggo shows up? 

“D-did you  _ kill _ Astrid?” Hiccup asked, voice almost a whisper. He waited with bated breath as the older man glanced casually behind him to look at Hiccup.

“Of course, not, dear. Why would I do that?” Viggo said with a bored tone before turning his eyes back to the road in front of him. 

Hiccup stared at the back of the man’s head. “D-did you push Ruff and Tuff off of that building?” Hiccup asked his voice full of suspicion. 

“Hiccup, let me put this plainly. Any one of them would have been  _ much _ easier to deal with than  _ you _ . Now tell me, why would I have picked  _ you _ over the dear Miss Astrid, hm?” Viggo said, voice tilting with anger. 

Hiccup considered the words before replying. “B-but you pulled  _ me _ up onto the roof of the building. You- you didn’t help Ruff or Tuff. You helped  _ me. _ A-and you didn’t want to go back with my friends, but you stayed with me anyways. You didn’t leave and trekked with me through the woods while we were being chased by a herd. And Snotlout died that very night after he ‘ _ tripped _ ’ and Astrid the next morning even though she  _ wasn’t  _ bitten.” Hiccup finished, voice rising in anger rising as he finally pieced together why his life had fallen apart so quickly. “ _ You _ did that. You did all of it,” Hiccup whispered, feeling tears prick his eyes.

God, he should have tried to kill Viggo when he had the chance. And he was  _ so _ sick of crying. He was so  _ pathetic, _ and all of them were so strong. He brought this evil man back to them, back to Astrid, and let the man kill them. He didn’t even  _ figure it out _ until the man basically revealed his hand and raped him before dismembering him and tying him in the back of the truck!. 

Viggo sighed, pausing for a long moment before continuing. “Dearest, they would have only kept you from me. And  _ you _ are all that I desire.”

Hiccup felt his face crumple, and he quickly laid back down, rolling over to face away from Viggo despite the pain in his wrists and leg as he did so. He didn’t want the man to see his face. He was ashamed enough as it was.

He felt himself begin to shake but tried to fight against the emotions threatening to drown him. God, his entire core felt cold as ice, stomach twisting painfully in his gut. He had led all of his friends to the slaughter and was now defenseless, as always, to save even himself. 

He tried to stay quiet and to keep his breathing somewhat even despite his need to scream and cry and do  _ something _ to help ease the pain he felt for them and the coldness clawing its way through him. 

He couldn’t stop shaking. 

Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, wanting for just one moment, to block out the rest of the world and try and keep himself from breaking to pieces. 

Hiccup felt as the truck was jerked to the side and listened as Viggo’s door opened and then shut before the door across from him was opened. Hiccup felt a sob rake its way through him, and he halfheartedly tried to kick at the man. 

He had taken  _ everything,  _ and here he was, trying to take even more from Hiccup. Hiccup felt as the man climbed in beside him, touching him, and Hiccup just pulled away, wanting to curl up and simply cease to exist. It would be so much easier than dealing with the loss of his family  _ again _ , but with a new, devastating detail. 

Viggo was now lying beside him, and Hiccup again began to fight and pull away from the man.

“Hiccup, stop! You’re  _ freezing. _ You’re going into shock,” Viggo said, trying to pull Hiccup closer. “For god's sake, stop fighting me! I need to warm you up.”

Viggo wrestled with Hiccup until finally, he had managed to wrap his arms around the smaller male and pull him flush against his chest.

Hiccup continued to struggle and kick until exhaustion finally overwhelmed him, and he collapsed into Viggo’s hold. 

“Sh, I’ve got you,” Viggo said while turning Hiccup to face him, before pulling the boy’s head into his chest. He stroked Hiccup’s hair, his other arm keeping him close to share body heat. Viggo continued to hold Hiccup until the boy stopped shaking, body finally caving to the exhaustion and pain and allowing him to sleep. 

Viggo knew he would need to keep a much closer eye on Hiccup to ensure he did not go into shock again.

  
  


Hiccup must have fallen asleep with Viggo because when he came to, the man was no longer beside him, and they seemed much further along in their drive. The sound that awakened him was of a door opening. He turned sleepily and saw Viggo exiting through the driver’s side. The man pulled open the door opposite of where Hiccup was tied and tried to enter. Hiccup kicked at him, catching the man in the chest, but his good leg was quickly pinned before Viggo pulled himself into the truck and threw the blankets off of him. 

“I just need to loosen your tourniquet, so you don’t lose more of your leg, Hiccup. If you kick me again, I  _ will _ break your other leg,” the man said as he positioned himself to where he was sitting on Hiccup’s good leg, the other one in his lap. “I don’t need you to walk anymore, dear. Once we’re home, I can leave you tied to the damn bed if I want,” the man spat before reaching for the tourniquet and loosening it slightly. 

Hiccup cursed and then groaned in pain as the feeling from his lower leg returned as Viggo loosened the tourniquet, allowing blood to finally enter the surrounding tissues. They sat like this for several moments, Viggo stroking and massaging the leg, while Hiccup squirmed in discomfort. 

He wanted nothing more in the world than to be able to kill the man before him. He needed to wait for an opportunity and then strike as soon as possible. He couldn’t get to wherever Viggo was taking him. He may never be able to escape then. 

But there was something Hiccup wanted to know, first, before he died or before he killed the man. “Why did you kill them?” He wanted to ask more; he wanted to scream at the man that they were worth so much more than him. He wanted to know what gain Viggo got from killing them instead of just stealing Hiccup. There were so many things Viggo could have done rather than kill them...

Hiccup could feel the man’s eyes on him, but he didn’t look, just kept staring at the roof of the truck as the man continued to massage his leg to get blood flow to his wound. “I’ve already told you, dear. I didn’t want them; I wanted you,” Viggo said in a soft, almost loving voice. I did nothing but send a shiver down Hiccup’s spine. 

He could still feel the pain from their fucking earlier, even though it was overshadowed by the pain from his leg. He was more terrified of the man above him than he chose to admit to. 

This man had killed for him. Had killed to keep him and had crippled him to ensure he couldn’t leave. What else was he capable of? 

Hiccup stayed quiet, not asking the rest of the questions he desired because he knew he would get the same answer. Viggo killed them because of Hiccup; it was all his fault. They sat in silence as Viggo continued to massage his leg until the older man deemed it enough to keep the tissues alive and tightened the tourniquet again. 

He wordlessly left, shutting the door behind him before crawling back into the driver’s seat. They continued on their journey, and Hiccup pulled one last time on his restraints before surrendering, allowing himself to rest again.

The next time he was roused from sleep, it was because Viggo was yelling. Hiccup tried to sit up, momentarily forgetting that his arms were bound and that he was in pain from his ‘field amputation.’ He groaned as he tried to pull the injured leg towards him as he sat up, but tried to focus on what was happening instead of the pain. 

Viggo had the window rolled down and was waving an arm out of the window and shouting.

“It’s okay! I’m Ryker’s brother!” he yelled as people began to approach the vehicle. 

Hiccup tensed and could already feel his heart begin to pound uncomfortably in his chest. There were at  _ least _ five men all approaching them with assault rifles in their hand, and, for  _ some reason _ , Viggo had turned the truck off. They couldn’t run as the skeptical and pissed off men approached. Hiccup tried to flatten himself against the seat and make himself seem small, hoping that they’d overlook him. 

Viggo seemed to have driven them into a bloodbath.

A man walked up to the driver’s side window and leaned his head in, glancing in the vehicle, his eyes lingering on Hiccup, who was cowering in the backseat.

This situation was far too similar to what had transpired right before Drago had dragged them out of the truck and into the streets. Hiccup shuddered, pulling his legs to his chest and biting his lip hard enough to draw blood to try and keep quiet as he moved his injured leg.

“Who did you say you were?” The man asked in a thick southern accent, his gaze finally leaving Hiccup and returning to Viggo. 

“Yes, my name is Viggo Grimborn, brother of Ryker Grimborn. This is his house; is he here?” Viggo asked while thrumming his fingers against the steering wheel. 

The man glanced at Hiccup one last time before stepping back and pulling out a walkie talkie. “Yeah, uh, Ryker? This dude named ‘Viggo’ is here claiming to be your brother. He has some runt with him. Should we let ‘em through?” He asked into the radio before waiting for a reply.

“Hand me over to Viggo, Kaleb,” the distorted voice over the radio said. 

The man, Kaleb, grumbled in complaint, but did as told, passing the radio to Viggo. 

“Ryker?” Viggo asked into the walkie talkie, but there were several silent moments with no reply. 

It wasn’t too much longer before the whir of an engine could be heard. A large bald man was approaching on an ATV, kicking up dust in his wake. He pulled up next to the truck, and as soon as Viggo saw him, he opened his door and left the truck, ignoring the weapons aimed at him. 

Thankfully, Viggo hadn’t shut his door, so Hiccup could hear their conversation. 

“Ryker?” Viggo asked again, an actual smile forming on his face. The larger man, Ryker, Hiccup assumed, jumped off of the ATV before it even came to a full stop and walked towards Viggo. They met in front of the truck and just sat staring at each other for several moments before crushing each other in a hug. Hiccup watched, mortified, as he continued to pull on his restraints. This is what Viggo meant by ‘home,’ and Hiccup feared it might be too late for him to run off. He was on Viggo’s home turf now. 

Ryker and Viggo finally pulled apart, and Ryker clapped Viggo on the shoulder before turning to address his men. “This is my younger brother, Viggo Grimborn!” He exclaimed, and they all lowered their weapons, and some wandered off to resume whatever they had been doing previously. 

“Hm, I can’t believe you pulled that off, brother. I thought for sure you were dead. It took you long enough to get here, eh?” Ryker said, still resting his hand on Viggo’s shoulder as if afraid he’d disappear again. 

“Well, I had my fair share of troubles.  _ Including _ the playmate I brought along with me,” Viggo said while gesturing to Hiccup. Hiccup ducked behind the passenger seat once Viggo brought attention to him, not wanting any more eyes on him than the few men that had already gathered beside his door. 

“Ah, so you’ve been busy. You’ll be happy to know that I took your advice and got my own toy to help deal with this  _ shitshow _ of the world,” Ryker growled. “But now that you’re here, you can take some of the weight off... that is if you’re not too wrapped up in your new toy. You broke ‘em in yet?”

Viggo laughed and walked over to Hiccup’s door. The men that had been gathered all backed away as the two brothers opened the door, basically pulling Hiccup out of the truck since his hands were still bound to the door. “Fortunately, this one’s got spirit. He’ll last a long time, and I’m not rushing to break him just yet,” Viggo said as both of the brothers sized him up. Hiccup wanted to curse and scream, but, despite the adrenaline coursing through his body, was too fearful to even move. 

He felt like prey facing down two predators while caught in a trap. Even the slightest move might mean his destruction, but was he really just going to sit passively by? 

Ryker stepped forward and reached for Hiccup’s face, and Hiccup panicked and tried moving away. Ryker pressed closer, hand so close Hiccup could feel the heat from the man’s body, and Hiccup lashed out and bit the offending hand. 

Ryker cursed and pulled away before both brothers began to laugh.

“You weren’t lying, Viggo. If mine did that, I’d skin her alive.” Ryker said, voice dripping with threat. 

Hiccup stared at the man, once again frozen as he waited for the man to strike him for what he just did. However, no hit came, and instead, the door was once again shut, leaving him inside the truck alone. 

It wasn’t for long, though. Ryker climbed into the passenger side after moving all of the stuff onto the floorboard, and Viggo reclaimed his spot behind the wheel. The truck was started, and then they were driving down a long and winding dirt driveway. 

Hiccup was carefully watching the two men in front of him, but they both seemed far too interested in catching up with one another than to bother him. After several moments of being ignored, Hiccup dared a glance out of the window. 

There were entering a very large clearing that was encased by trees from what he could see. There were large spikes planted in the field at an angle, and a few had the dead trapped on them as they endlessly tried to move forward, only serving to push themselves further on the spikes. 

Hiccup glanced back and saw that they had just entered a large metal gate attached to a fence, but the fence had been flattened in some parts, supposedly by the dead. Several men were trying to fix the most vulnerable part of the fence and were using more wooden stakes to support it. 

Hiccup looked forward again and saw them approaching a second fence, this one more rudimentary than the other. It seems as if they had welded metal sheets together and lined them in another circle around the property, or at least what he could see of it, with more wooden and metal stakes in front of the barrier. 

The final fence was a decorative wooden one that appeared to be handmade from actual logs of wood instead of being manufactured. Hiccup, for one, didn’t feel safe from these shoddy attempts of protection. He had seen a horde break down a stone wall in the town he, Ruff, and Tuff had been to, so the thin metal fence and wooden sticks were not comforting. 

He watched as they passed through the wooden fence, and a few moments later came upon the camp. There was one actual house that was obviously built before the dead appeared, and several others that seemed to be handmade. Again, shoddy workmanship, for the most part. Some houses looked a lot better than others, but none would stand against a horde. Hell, a storm might knock some of them down.

The actual house is what caught his eyes the most. It was large, with a wooden wrap-around porch, and seemed to have solar panels attached to the roof. Now  _ that _ was interesting. Did this camp have electricity? Like air conditioning? 

The house, although primarily made of wood, seemed rather sturdy. There was also a large garden that also probably existed before the dead.

“You like what you see?” 

Ryker’s voice dragged Hiccup out of his thoughts, and he looked at the man. He hadn’t been hit from biting the man, so what are the odds he would be hurt just from being honest?

“Your workmanship is shit,” Hiccup finally said, and both men began to laugh again.

“Well, let’s see what you scrounge together during the apocalypse, hm? And with only one leg?” Ryker asked, and Hiccup had the urge to stick his tongue out but kept quiet instead. He looked back out of the window, now trying to listen to whatever the men were saying.

“Hiccup was an apprentice for a mechanic prior to this and was attending school for mechanical engineering,” Viggo said, and Ryker made a noise of approval. 

“Well, perhaps once he’s back on his feet, or  _ foot _ , he could help out,” Ryker said, voice full of mirth. “What happened to his leg, anyways?”

“Oh, he tried to trap me in a horde and leave me for dead,” Viggo said, but his voice almost seemed… proud?

Ryker laughed, turning to look back at Hiccup again as they pulled up beside the large house.

The men exited the truck, Ryker hauling both bags of supplies and the bloody sword as Viggo came around to get Hiccup. The door was opened, and Viggo untied the belt from the door before taking it off of Hiccup’s hands as well. His wrists were a sad sight. Both were purple and swollen and throbbing with pain. Viggo gently took them in his hands as he studied them, before humming in disapproval. 

“Look at what you did to your wrists, dear. Ah, oh well, come on. I’ll help you into the house,” Viggo said, for once appearing almost carefree as he helped Hiccup out of the truck and led him up the steps and into the house. 

When they entered, the first thing that caught Hiccup’s attention was the television, and he stared at it for a few seconds, fascinated at the movie playing on the screen. He honestly never expected to see such a thing again. It was odd and felt displaced during such a time. He was trapped in an abandoned and half-burnt down mall just a few hours ago, and now he was standing in a cool, air-conditioned house that had a movie playing?

He was brought further into the house before they stopped. There were several people all sitting around the television. There were two men sitting on the couches, their eyes trained on Viggo and Hiccup. There was also a young girl with dark hair sitting on the floor between the two men. 

She seemed to be trying to make herself appear smaller, but her green eyes were trained on Hiccup’s. Hiccup stared back, noticing the dark bruises on the girl’s pale face. 

He immediately knew that this girl was like him. She was trapped here and being hurt.

Ryker sauntered over to the girl before motioning for her to stand, and she did. Ryker wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his side before turning them around to address the room. “See, Viggo? I told you I got my own pet,” he said while lightly shaking the girl as if to emphasize his point. The girl glanced at Viggo before her eyes trained back on Hiccup’s. 

Hiccup was mesmerized by her eyes and was trying to keep up with all of the raw emotion they held. He could tell that she was trying to convey something to him, but he didn’t quite understand what. 

“Ah, well, c’mon brother, I’ll show you to your room,” Ryker said before dropping the girl and walking back over to them before leading them further into the house. Hiccup tried to look back at the girl before they left, feeling as if he needed to know what she was trying to tell him, but was soon pulled away from her. They eventually arrived at a locked door, and Hiccup could feel a cold sweat break out just from the small exertion of leaving the truck and hopping through the home while Viggo guided him. Ryker pulled out a key to the door and handed it to Viggo. “Should be exactly as you left it, brother. None of my men were allowed in here,” Ryker said with a serious tone.

Viggo nodded, accepting the key. “Thank you, brother," he said as he twirled the key around in his hand. "Do you have a medical station? I cut the leg low enough so we could amputate more to get a cleaner, less horrid scar. Don't want to look at twisted, ugly skin during sex, do we dear?” Viggo asked while unlocking the door. 

Hiccup wanted to spit on the man, but as it was, he was struggling to keep his head up. He felt as if he may pass out again. They only thing he knew? He would lose even more of his leg so Viggo could find his scar _attractive._

“No," Ryker answered as he laughed. "But we’ve got a doctor. I’ll tell him to come to your room as soon as possible,” Ryker said before turning away. He made it to the end of the hall before turning back around to look at Viggo one last time before he left. 

Viggo chuckled to himself before shuffling them through the doorway. He set Hiccup down on the bed and then straightened himself before releasing a deep breath and smiling. “Ah, this is it, dear. We’re home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think down below!


	8. First Day in Hel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this took a long time. 
> 
> Sorry for the late update; I just started nursing school, so instead of weekly updates, the story will be updated every two weeks. Again, this story WILL be finished! It's already all planned out so all I have to do is put the thoughts into words :)
> 
> To make up for the long update time without a warning, this chapter is DOUBLE the length of a normal chapter (14k). So, that kinda makes up for missing a week, right? Because this is basically a two in one chapter. 
> 
> WARNING!!!  
> This chapter contains non/con and language, as will most of the chapters that come afterward.

Hiccup was utterly exhausted. He sat on the bed Viggo had dumped him on, holding his head and focusing on the daunting task of not passing out. Viggo was noisily rummaging around in what was apparently his room, only adding to Hiccup’s irritation and headache. Could he not at least be  _ quiet _ while searching for what was most likely some sick torture device? 

The thought alone of being anywhere  _ near _ the man’s home was enough to make him sick and yet here Hiccup was sitting on the man’s bed.

The universe must really hate him.

Mere minutes after Hiccup was finally left alone on the bed and given a small chance to console himself and get his bearings, there was an obnoxiously loud knock on the door. 

“Hey, Viggo. I found the doctor for you,” Ryker’s gruff voice called from behind the door. Viggo ceased his insistent searching and strode over to the door. He took the time to glance back at Hiccup before opening the heavy wooden door, revealing three men, including Ryker, standing on the other side. 

“That was fast,” Viggo commented as he stepped aside and allowed the men to enter. 

The men all shuffled in each shooting Hiccup a suspicious glance as if they expected him to run off through the open door. As much as the idea tempted him, he figured if he stood up right now, he would just pass out. He was  _ starving _ and figured it hadn’t helped that he had lost a lot of blood. 

He halfheartedly watched the men as one of them began to lay garbage bags down on the ground and the other set a large black bag by the pile of garbage bags before shuffling over to Hiccup. 

He tensed as the man reached to touch his leg.

_ Oh, duh. _ Hiccup thought. He now knew what was about to transpire and was angry with himself for not picking up on the hints sooner. Why else would all these men be here? They were here to take more of his leg. Hiccup just wasn’t prepared for how quickly they came for him. He didn’t have any time to recover, much less plot a way to escape or fight.

He should have tried to go for the door… at least then he would have passed out and been unconscious through this ‘procedure.’ 

Hiccup should have probably felt fear and adrenaline, but his body felt too weak to even respond beyond irritation at the men around him.

Hiccup knew, logically, that having someone with some semblance of a medical background amputate his leg would probably keep it from getting infected and would ensure a much cleaner cut than what Viggo had done as he hacked away with a broadsword. It would probably allow for his leg to heal faster, too. 

But he’d be damned if he just sat there and let these men do whatever they pleased. He was going to at least hurt  _ someone _ . One of these assholes was leaving here with a scar, if not all of them, just out of spite. They were probably all just as horrible as Viggo himself;  _ Ryker _ sure was.

Despite his exhaustion, there was no real way to escape the fear of having to relive this particular traumatic moment. He wasn’t sure he was strong enough to endure anything more at the moment other than a nice meal and at least twelve hours of sleep. He knew, however, that his suffering was far from over. He was going to lose more of his leg, there was no real way around that. Even though this second amputation was more medical treatment than cruelty, despite Viggo  _ insisting _ it was because he didn’t want to look at an ugly scar, he still wasn’t going down without a fight.

Hiccup frowned at the memory of the man’s hateful statement and turned his attention to the ‘doctor’ kneeling before him. The man was humming to himself as he studied Hiccup’s leg, thankfully not touching him yet, and after his assessment, turned to address Viggo.

“It doesn’t look too bad, sir. I should be able to make a cleaner cut and leave some skin to pin up and close the wound,” the man said before backing away and returning to his black bag of what Hiccup assumed hid whatever instruments the man intended to use to amputate his leg. 

“Good,” Viggo said as he appeared from where he had been rummaging through the nightstand again. “Now, Hiccup, dear?” Viggo asked as he moved to stand in front of him. Hiccup lifted his head to meet the man’s eyes, wondering if he’d be quick enough to get off of the bed and dig his nails into the man’s face and at least blind him in one eye. It’s  _ start _ to make up for what the man had done to him.

Before Hiccup could decide whether or not to make a move against the man, Viggo brandished a small bottle of clear liquid. “I’m going to allow you to sleep through this process, if only because I know you’ll fight and ruin the clean cut needed for your leg to heal how I want it to,” Viggo said as he pulled a needle out of his pocket. 

Hiccup eyed the needle suspiciously as he pushed himself further back on the bed. Sure,  _ originally _ he had wanted to be unconscious, but if  _ Viggo _ suggested it then there was some ulterior motive, Hiccup just knew it.

There was  _ no way _ he was going to be unconscious with all of these strange men around him, not if  _ Viggo _ suggested it. He couldn’t let himself be forced into such a vulnerable position again, ever. Viggo sighed and gave Hiccup a flat look as he continued to move further and further away. 

“Fuck you,” Hiccup said, locking eyes with the man.

Ryker laughed before stepping over. “You really need to break this one in,” he said as he made to grab Hiccup. Hiccup shoved Ryker’s outstretched hand away, but the man simply moved onto the bed and continued his pursuit, still with a creepy smile on his face. Hiccup grunted and tried to punch the man in his smug face, but the man swatted his hand away with a laugh and grabbed his other wrist. Frustrated, Hiccup kicked at the older man and managed to catch him in his gut, loosening the hold on his wrist. 

This merely made Ryker laugh again as the man wrapped his meaty hand around his ankle and dragged Hiccup back towards him. The man then grabbed a fistful of Hiccup’s hair and shoved him down to the bed before swinging himself over to straddle Hiccup’s abdomen. Hiccup fought against the man’s hold, clawing red stripes down the man’s arms as Ryker motioned for Viggo to come over, and he did, now with a needle full of the sedative. 

Ryker wrestled for his hands and eventually managed to get both of Hiccup’s wrists pinned against his chest, one hand still forcing Hiccup’s head down. A drop of Ryker’s blood landed on Hiccup’s shirt which sent a small tinge of satisfaction through him. 

At least he made  _ one  _ of them bleed before he fell unconscious.

Hiccup tried to push himself away from the needle, but didn’t get very far with the huge oaf sitting on his chest and pinning him to the bed. He felt fear rise in him as Viggo leaned down and pressed the needle against his skin, but as soon as the needle pierced his skin, Hiccup knew he had lost the fight and sagged into the bed in defeat.

The needle was withdrawn and Ryker climbed off of him, but Hiccup stayed still, trying to process what losing this small battle meant. Sure, he never really stood a chance against four men, but losing was still painful. He would be unconscious and vulnerable and these men could do whatever the hell they wanted to him. 

After several seconds, he tried to sit up and Viggo helped him despite Hiccup trying to shove him away with the strength he had left. His head was swimming and his body was screaming to just relax and allow himself to sleep. He knew, however, that there was no telling what would happen to him while he was out or even how long he would be gone. He was panicking knowing there was no way to fight against the drug.

He tried to form the words to ask Viggo how long the drug would last, but his mouth felt numb and refused to cooperate. He could feel calloused hands rubbing his arms and he wanted to spit at the man and fight him off, but he realized with mute horror that he couldn’t move his arms. His eyelids began to droop close, and Hiccup knew he was going to lose his battle against the drug, and soon. 

He doesn’t remember falling asleep, but he remembers waking up. He remembers a soft light registering behind his closed eyelids. He slowly regained awareness, leaving him in a weary and confused state. The first thing he felt, even before any of his memories of  _ why _ he was asleep resurfaced, was fear. 

He couldn’t figure out why he was afraid, but some primal part of him knew that he should be. His body was weak and sluggish and he could feel warmness encasing him. Confused even more, he forced his eyes to open. 

He could see his own body in a large bathtub, his injured leg resting on the edge of the tub to keep the white bandages dry. The memory of why he had been unconscious filtered through his brain and he stared at his now noticeable shorter leg. The man had taken several more inches, but at least it seemed like his leg had already been cleaned. He wondered whether they had used an antiseptic to prevent infection, but was drawn out of his thoughts as he noticed a  _ different _ set of legs surrounding him.

His back was pressed against a solid chest and he could feel warm breath ghosting over his neck. He groaned and tried to lift his arms, but he was shushed and then he could hear water splash lightly before a soapy rag was rubbing his chest. 

He knew who was behind him. Who else would it be? 

He wanted to ask the man why the hell was he  _ bathing _ him, but knew it would be a waste of energy. Besides, he wasn’t entirely sure he was even coherent enough to form words, much less sentences.

Seeing as he wasn’t in any immediate danger, he surrendered and let himself relax slightly into the man’s embrace as he continued to clean him. Instead of stressing himself out about a situation he couldn’t change, he focused on getting his limbs to work. He needed to prepare to defend himself. There was no telling what may happen next.

His mouth and throat were painfully dry but his injured leg, surprisingly, was nothing more than a dull ache. He let his eyes drift shut again, not quite caring to see his leg or his own naked body being touched. He sat there, trying to tune out the feel of Viggo’s hands holding him and cleaning him.

“I’m glad you’re awake, dear. There’s much I’d like to discuss with you,” Viggo said as he moved to clean Hiccup’s arm. Hiccup remained lax in the man’s arm, absentmindedly flexing his fingers and toes to test just how out of it he was. The digits responded slowly, but there was a tingling signaling he wasn’t quite ready to try and fight off the man. It’d be better for him to just listen to whatever the man wanted to say.

“This camp,” Viggo continued when it was obvious Hiccup wasn’t going to reply. “It’s in rather sad shape, I think. You were right about the defenses and houses. Rather poor work, if I do say so myself,” Viggo mused as he soaked the rag in the water and let the warm water drip and rinse Hiccup’s soapy arm and chest. 

“I, however, do believe that you and I can make some adjustments, particularly to the walls supposedly defending this territory,” Viggo paused, as if contemplating whether or not to ask Hiccup his opinion, but decided against it and continued. “Despite our camp having electricity and running water due to the solar panels and electric well, it still seems rather underwhelming,” Viggo said while moving to clean Hiccup’s other arm. 

“They’ve been really lucky to not encounter a mob, yet. This so-called ‘community’ wouldn’t stand up against one for five minutes before it would collapse,” the man said darkly before dropping the rag in the water. Hiccup finally worked up the strength to push himself away from the man so he was sitting on his own and picked the rag back up. Once he was sitting up, water dripped down from his hair unto his face. Had the man washed his hair? 

Hiccup shivered at the thought, wondering what else Viggo had done while he was unconscious before beginning to clean his face. He had obviously undressed him and started to  _ bathe _ him. 

Viggo stayed reclined against the back of the tub, watching Hiccup closely as he continued to speak. “I believe our primary concern should be building a stronger outer wall. It needs to be sturdy, unlike the mockery of a defense they have set up. I think I’ll assign you and Ryker on that job while I overlook the supplies,” Viggo said, speaking more to himself than Hiccup. Hiccup continued to clean his face while half listening to what Viggo said. “After the wall, we’ll move on to securing the houses and then build up our weaponry. I figure, with your background in engineering, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for you to learn how to  _ make _ weapons or ammunition if we acquired the right machinery.”

Hiccup could feel Viggo’s eyes on him, but he ignored the man and didn’t answer. Why would he want to fortify their camp and give them weapons? He’d prefer if they  _ all _ died in a mob. At least then, no one else would suffer because of these men. 

Viggo hummed to himself as Hiccup finished washing himself. He then took the rag from him again and began to wash Hiccup’s back. Hiccup sighed into the touch, both resenting it and wanting to take some semblance of comfort from the warm bath and soft touches. He had a feeling Viggo wasn’t going to play the ‘nice’ card for too much longer. Although he  _ had _ managed to convince Hiccup he was a good person for months, so maybe he would keep the act up.

Despite how nice it felt to have the warm rag scrubbing his back, he eventually forced himself to shift away slightly and Viggo took the hint and rinsed off the soap. He began to try and exit the bath and Viggo stood and helped him, despite Hiccup trying to shove him away. Apparently he  _ was _ going to continue trying to be the good guy. With what a snake Viggo was, Hiccup wouldn’t be surprised if he stepped on his own brother to make himself look good. 

Eventually, they had navigated their way out of the tub, leaving Hiccup leaning against the sink and staring at the water rivlets running down his arms to pool around his hands. 

Viggo gave him a towel, and Hiccup covered himself, still not looking at the man. He stood still, listening as Viggo rummaged around behind him before exiting the bathroom. Hiccup glanced down at his bandaged leg and quickly dried the droplets about to soak the white coverings. 

He looked behind him to see Viggo getting dressed, and silently nudged the bathroom door shut for some privacy before drying the rest of himself off. Once content, he wrapped the towel around himself again before risking a small look in the mirror. 

He doesn’t quite know what he expected, but he still wasn’t quite prepared for what he saw. He had access to mirrors during their journey, but none since the whole Drago thing. He was  _ much _ paler than usual, probably because of blood loss, but the real difference was his hair and skin. His skin looked gross, to say the least. He needed to wash his face more often now that they weren’t stuck wandering in the woods. He also needed to seriously shave, that looked rather gross, too. His hair was long and tangled, although seemingly clean. 

Honestly, he doesn’t understand why Viggo finds him attractive. He looks  _ awful. _ Like a sick teenager with bad acne and even worse hygiene. He hears the door creak open behind him, but doesn’t turn to address the man, instead watching him in the mirror. 

Viggo doesn’t say anything as Hiccup tries to run his fingers through the tangled mess of hair, and instead steps closer to open a drawer of the sink and pull out a comb. Viggo attempts to brush Hiccup’s hair out, but Hiccup turns, snarling and slapping the man’s hand away.

“Don’t  _ touch _ me,” he snaps before ripping the comb out of Viggo’s hand and attempting to brush out his own hair. Hiccup can feel surprise and anger radiating off of the man behind him, but the man doesn’t act on it.

Hiccup continues trying to force the comb through his tangled hair, wondering just how much Viggo was going to let him get away with for the sake of his ‘being the good guy.’ After frustratingly getting the comb stuck and managing to rip out his hair more than anything else, he gave up and let go of the comb while it was still dangling from the tangles it was caught in. 

Viggo stepped forward and began to gently untangle the comb before brushing through some of the tangles. He paused to reach into the side drawer and pulled out a razor and shaving cream and set it on the counter. Hiccup stared at the razor, wondering if it would be better to keep his gross looking beard. Maybe it’d deter Viggo? 

When he didn’t make a move to use the razor, Viggo spoke up. “If you don’t shave yourself, Hiccup, I  _ will _ ,” the man promised in a somewhat threatening tone. Hiccup couldn’t help but to roll his eyes but got to work on shaving his face anyways while Viggo continued to brush out his hair. Once finished, Hiccup pulled the comb from Viggo’s hand again and finished brushing through all of the knots of twisted hair. 

Viggo left the bathroom, frustrated, and once Hiccup was done untangling his hair, Hiccup followed, hopping towards the bed. His leg was beginning to shake from holding his weight for just the few minutes he stood at the sink and he needed to sit down soon. He wasn’t used to managing his weight on one leg just yet. Hiccup sat down on the bed, still wrapped in his wet towel, and Viggo shot him a dirty look.

“You shouldn’t sit on the bed when you’re soaking wet, Hiccup,” Viggo chastised, but didn’t do anything to correct him. Hiccup scooted further back unto the bed just to spite the man. How far was the man going to let him take this?

Viggo walked over and set a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt on his lap. Hiccup rubbed the material of the T-shirt between his fingers before pulling the blue material over his head. Hiccup watched as Viggo turned away and entered the bathroom and quickly dropped the towel and pulled on the sweatpants while the man wasn’t looking. 

He came back a few moments later weilding a pair of scissors and the comb that was now clean of Hiccup’s hair. 

“Come on, dear,” Viggo said while tucking the comb in his pocket, but keeping the scissors in one hand as he grabbed Hiccup’s arm and pulled him to stand. 

_ Smart _ . Hiccup thought as he eyed the scissors the man had intentionally  _ not _ left unattended in his pocket. Viggo pulled him towards the door, but Hiccup pulled backwards. Viggo, surprisingly, didn’t force Hiccup and instead turned to face him. 

“What?” He asked impatiently.

“Are you going to try and cut my hair?” Hiccup asked, pointing to the scissors in the man’s hand. 

“Yes, now come on,” Viggo said, tugging on Hiccup’s arm again. 

“Can we eat first?” Hiccup asked as he was tugged along and out through the door. 

“We’ll eat later, now come,” Viggo said, pulling him through the house and outside onto the wooden porch. Viggo guided them over to the steps of the porch and Hiccup sat down, Viggo sitting behind him. Viggo placed Hiccup’s damp towel across the younger man’s shoulders to catch the hair clippings.

The man then began to brush out Hiccup’s hair again, and Hiccup sighed, picking at the soft wood of the porch with his fingers as Viggo started to snip at strands of his hair. He liked the feel of the setting sun still warming his skin as it slowly made its descent behind the trees surrounding the large property. He flexed his toes and pulled his legs to his chest, loving the soft scrape of wood against his now clean skin.

“You know, dear, my brother, Ryker, is a few years older than me. He’s taken after me in so many ways, but one thing we’ve always differed on, is our toys,” Viggo said while pausing his cutting to run his hand through Hiccup’s hair. “Ryker, you see, wants to break his toy, shatter their will and self esteem until they’re nothing more than a human puppet to bend to his will,” Viggo said, continuing to snip off pieces of hair. 

“Oh, lemme guess,” Hiccup said sarcastically. “You’re  _ better _ than him somehow because, despite the fact that you rape and mutilate your ‘ _ pets _ ,’ you’re nicer, right? Because you want something more than a  _ punching bag _ ?” Hiccup mumbled angrily, pausing his exploration of the details hidden in the wood grain.

“I wouldn’t say I’m  _ better _ than him,” Viggo said with a chuckle, continuing in a calm demeanor. “We just have different tastes. I, personally, prefer a  _ companion _ rather than a ‘punching bag,’ as you call it. Although that doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate anything other than pure obedience,” Viggo stated, slightly tightening his grip on Hiccup’s hair. “If I punish you, it’s because you’ve failed in some way, not because I want to hurt you. If I hadn’t decided to be lenient with you today, you would have already been corrected  _ numerous _ times. Although I see now, perhaps that wasn’t the best method. You’re obviously not too upset about your leg if you still manage to be this  _ insolent, _ ” Viggo mused as he continued his combing. “I will not, however, tolerate disobedience or disloyalty any longer and will, by any means possible, correct such behavior. Do you understand?” 

Hiccup pulled away from the man and turned to look at him. Viggo seemed agitated that Hiccup had pulled away and tightened his fist around the comb and scissors. “First of all, I’m not your  _ pet _ or your  _ toy _ ,” Hiccup snapped, glaring at the older man. 

He didn’t have a chance to continue as Viggo dropped the comb and lunged forward suddenly, grabbing him by the throat. Hiccup was thrown off balance and would have fallen backwards down the steps if it weren’t for Viggo’s hand wrapped around his neck. Hiccup grabbed onto the man’s arm as Viggo spoke.

“ _ Dear _ ,” he said, his voice now filled with venom. “You  _ are _ whatever I decide to make you.” Viggo scoffed before continuing, shaking Hiccup slightly at his words. “Do you not realize I’m the sole reason you’re still  _ alive _ ? You live under  _ my _ command and  _ my _ protection. I can force you to be what I want and I  _ can _ beat you into submission. But I’d rather not. I’d rather shape you and allow you to be more than just a ‘fucktoy,” Viggo said while edging closer to Hiccup. “You are an asset, Hiccup. You’re intelligent and skilled and I don’t want you to be some scared empty shell. I want you to be by my  _ side _ ,” Viggo said in a much softer tone while pulling Hiccup back onto the steps so he wouldn’t fall before releasing him.

“You’re insane,” Hiccup finally said, pulling away from Viggo and rubbing his throat. Viggo ignored him and mutely pulled Hiccup back into position before continuing to cut his hair. 

Hiccup let his eyes drift back to the sunset, the sun now halfway hidden behind the tall trees. The sound of scissors snipping at his hair was grating on his nerves, but he didn’t have the energy to really put up a fight. 

Viggo was  _ wrong _ . Hiccup wouldn’t allow himself to fall prey to this man. He would never be what Viggo wanted him to be. He’d kill himself if he had to. There was no way this man would win. Hiccup couldn’t be forced into submission. He’d  _ never _ be a willing partner for this man. He took a deep breath and let his eyes close, missing the warmth of the setting sun already.

After several long and uncomfortable moments of silence between the pair, the door swung open loudly, making Hiccup flinch, and heavy footsteps followed. Ryker walked to stand beside them, leaning against a post before pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Hiccup didn’t look at the man and instead focused on the treeline in front of him. 

The sunset was beautiful, even if it signalled the end of the first day at his new prison.

He could see Ryker offer Viggo a cigarette out of his peripheral vision, but the man declined. He tugged on Hiccup’s shoulder, whispering a request to turn. Hiccup did, begrudgingly, and his line of vision was blocked by the oaf of a man puffing away on a cigarette and putting off a putrid scent of smoke and tobacco. Viggo continued to snip away pieces of auburn hair, and Hiccup closed his eyes. 

The situation was deceitfully peaceful, and Hiccup began to relax. He was reminded of his unfortunate predicament when Ryker decided to shatter the calm with his grating voice. 

“We’ve got about two weeks of supplies left, and that’s not including you and your new toy,” he said, nudging Hiccup with his foot. Hiccup glared at the man and the man glared back. “Seriously, brother, why the hell would you pick  _ him? _ At least your other toys were  _ attractive _ ,” Ryker growled, not breaking eye contact with him. 

“Now, Ryker. That’s a rather hateful thing to say. Hiccup and I have been stranded in the wilderness for the past three  _ years.  _ How do you  _ expect _ him to look?” Viggo said, still clipping away at Hiccup’s hair. Hiccup couldn’t help but feel hurt at the comment. 

Ryker only grunted in response. “So, how was your years stuck in the wilderness? I have to admit, I’m surprised it took you that long,” Ryker said rather smuggly.

Viggo didn’t respond for several moments, instead turning Hiccup so he could cut the other side of his head. “That will be a story for another time, brother,” Viggo said in a tone that left no room for discussion. Surprisingly, Ryker simply grunted again and dropped the subject. 

They continued on in silence, Ryker puffing on his cigarette and Viggo finishing up on the side of Hiccup’s hair before turning him yet again to face him. He combed the bangs hanging over Hiccup’s forehead out of the way and not so subtly checked the younger man’s temperature. Hiccup pushed the man’s hand away and Viggo gave him another flat look, before raising his hand and holding up the number one. Hiccup was confused, but before he could decipher what the man meant, Viggo started to cut his bangs and didn’t say anything else. 

Viggo finished and brushed his fingers over Hiccup’s eyes to close them before blowing and getting the hair clippings off of Hiccup’s face. Hiccup pulled away angrily, not wanting to be treated like a child and began to wipe at his own face as Viggo pulled the towel around Hiccup’s neck off, careful not to drop the clippings it caught. 

Once Hiccup was done, he looked up and saw the man holding up the number two. Hiccup gave him a confused look, but the man simply stood up and went to the corner of the wrap around porch to shake the hair clippings out of the towel. Hiccup ran his fingers through his now much shorter hair, trying to ignore the feeling of Ryker’s eyes on him. 

The door opened again, this time much quieter. It was followed by light footsteps. Hiccup looked up to see the girl from earlier walk over to Ryker before announcing in a voice so soft Hiccup had barely heard her say that dinner was ready. 

“Ah, good,” Ryker said before taking a slow drag on his cigarette. He intentionally blew the smoke in the girl’s face before putting the cigarette out on the bottom of his boot. The girl didn’t really react to the extremely rude gesture and simply waited until Ryker nodded and then she entered the house, not sparing Hiccup a glance. 

Ryker stood up straight and nodded to Viggo as the man walked back over. “Dinner’s ready,” Ryker grumbled before ringing a bell that was attached to the house. The bell echoed through the camp. Viggo simply nodded before reaching down and helping Hiccup to his feet as Ryker entered the house. 

“Alright Hiccup, I’ve decided to give you a warning. If you disobey me tonight, you will be punished. I will  _ humiliate _ you in front of all of those men in whatever way I see fit. Do you understand?” Viggo said calmly and Hiccup glared back, knowing damn well he wasn’t about to be Viggo’s obedient little pet. The man could threaten him as much as he wanted. 

When it was clear Hiccup wasn’t going to answer, Viggo grabbed his throat and shook him. “Do you  _ understand?! _ ” 

Hiccup grabbed at the hand on his throat, glaring back at the man, still not answering.

“And that would be three,” Viggo announced before releasing him and letting him drop back to the ground. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said with a smug grin. He then grabbed Hiccup’s injured wrist tightly and pulled it over his shoulder before helping Hiccup maneuver into the house. Viggo guided them over to the table where Hiccup can see large plates of food resting on the table. 

His mouth instantly waters at the smell of the food. He felt nauseous because he hadn’t eaten in so long and is  _ really _ looking forward to dinner. Just as Hiccup goes to sit, Viggo swipes his good leg out from under him, sending him sprawling to the ground with an undignified yelp. Ryker’s booming laugh grates against Hiccup’s ears, but the embarrassment doesn’t stop him from trying to stand back up. Before he can, Viggo grabs a fistfull of his hair and sits down, dragging Hiccup closer. Hiccup grabs the wrist holding his hair and tries to pull against Viggo as Viggo guides him between his legs. 

Hiccup feels fear crawl through him, and fights harder, noisily bumping the table as he struggles. Viggo scoots his chair forward under the table, pushing Hiccup under the table as well. He releases Hiccup’s hair, leaving him trapped under the table between Viggo’s legs. Hiccup turned to crawl out from under the table, but was stopped at the sight of the girl from earlier kneeling under the table between Ryker’s legs. 

“This is where you belong, dear. You’ll learn your place soon enough,” Viggo said as if it was a promise. 

“That his first time?” Ryker asks, voice full of mirth and Hiccup suddenly had the urge to attack the man.

He doesn’t hear Viggo answer, but assumes that the man nodded.

Hiccup brushed off Viggo’s earlier words (he will  _ never  _ belong at another person’s feet) and instead focused on the girl a few feet away whose gaze was trained on the floor. She refused to look at him and when he waved at her to get her attention, she turned her back on him, facing Ryker fully. 

What the hell  _ happened _ to her? She was an empty shell like Viggo said Ryker’s pets were. Hiccup shivered at the thought of ever being broken down to the point of losing himself. The girl still wouldn’t look at him, and Hiccup felt determined to get through to her.

He was distracted from his musings at the sound of the door being slammed open as several more men filtered through the door and sat down at the table, their chairs scraping loudly against the floor. 

“Hey, Ryker. My team finished repairing the south side of the fence today,” one man reported, the sound of forks scraping against plates an unpleasant background noise.

The men begin bragging about what they accomplished that day, as if trying to impress Ryker. They spoke of how much wood they gathered, the amount of food they got from the garden, their luck with hunting for that day. Ryker seemed pleased with what he heard, but Viggo sat quietly. Hiccup could feel the man’s tenseness. For some reason, he didn’t approve.

Hiccup looked back to the girl who was still frozen in place, staring at the floor. She was so perfectly still that Hiccup couldn’t even tell whether or not she was  _ breathing _ . While Hiccup was staring at the girl who was also caged under the table by the men’s legs, Viggo reached a hand down to rest in Hiccup’s hair. Hiccup pulled away roughly, accidentally bumping into one of the men’s legs. 

Said man pulled his chair back and peered under the table, grinning at Hiccup. “Oh, I didn’t see you there, little man,” the man said with a chuckle as he eyed Hiccup. Hiccup scooted back towards Viggo and away from the red-haired man with bad teeth. He’d rather be stuck with a sadist than an unhygienic idiot  _ any _ day.

He saw Viggo reach his hand under the table and hold up the number four.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the man and instead glare daggers at the gross idiot still glowering at him. He wasn’t impressed with these men or this camp  _ at all _ . They all seemed pretty stupid, admittedly save for Viggo, and were acting as if they had full  _ teams _ of men doing each and every task, which Hiccup thought was a waste of people. He understands a team of men fixing a fence, maybe, but that fence doesn’t need to be fixed; it needs to be completely redone with materials strong enough to keep people and the dead out. Anyone could climb the fence and enter the community and if a mob came they were all dead. Were these people just stupid or lazy?

Viggo put his hand back in Hiccup’s hair and pulled him closer as the red-haired idiot pushed his chair back under the table and went back to eating.

Gathering wood also seemed like a task for multiple men if they were cutting down trees to build houses, but it seemed like they were just getting firewood. A job that should have taken one man a few hours at  _ most.  _ And a whole team just to tend to the garden? These men must have had a cozy life among the dead to only get those few things accomplished in a day. Hiccup huffed in annoyance as Viggo continued to massage his scalp.

He tries to push the man’s hands away and Viggo fists Hiccup’s hair and pulls his face to rest against his knee. He then, surprisingly, released Hiccup and just went back to massaging his scalp and eating. Hiccup pulled his head off of the man’s knee, wishing for nothing more than the man in front of him to have sudden liver failure. Or a heart attack. Whichever was most painful.

A few moments later, Viggo retracted the hand from where it was buried in Hiccup’s hair and Hiccup ran his own hands through his wet hair to get the feel of the Viggo’s hands touching him to disappear. Viggo’s hand soon returned under the table with a piece of food. 

Hiccup just stared at the offering, dumbfounded. Did Viggo expect him to let himself be hand fed? Hiccup ignored the piece of food, despite how hungry he was, and mentally forced himself to not bite the man’s hand. Although satisfying, it might just end up with the man deciding to cut off one of his fingers or pull out a tooth. Who the hell could tell what the insane man was thinking?

After several moments of holding the food and Hiccup ignoring it, Viggo dropped the delicious smelling morsel onto the floor before returning to eating. Conversation continued between the men as they ate, but Hiccup was more interested on the girl than anything else. He turned away from Viggo to face the girl.

He tries to get the girl’s attention, but she ignores him again. He waved at her and she pointedly turned even further so Hiccup couldn’t see her face. Frustrated, Hiccup picks up the morsel of food Viggo dropped and tosses it at the girl, hitting her on the shoulder. She turns, eyes furious and Hiccup wilts a little under her glare, wondering why she was so mad at him. She was the one ignoring  _ him. _ They were in the same situation here, right?

She sighed, eyes softening and she just shook her head before turning back around. He continued to watch, seeing Ryker offering her a morsel of food and her leaning forward and taking it, not with her hands, but with her  _ mouth. _ Hiccup shivered again, turning away from her. He needed to get them both far away from here and  _ soon _ . This was disgusting. What had Ryker done to her to get her to do such a humiliating feat?

He trains his eye on Viggo’s knee, hating how he couldn’t see the man’s face. He couldn’t tell what the man was thinking or  _ doing _ , and that was unnerving. But more than anything, he was pissed. Here he was, sitting at Viggo’s feet under a table, surrounded by gross, perverted men. It was  _ humiliating _ . 

And looking at the girl across from him only cemented just what situation he was in. He would  _ never _ stay here long enough to be broken like her. He would escape before that. He had to. He would get them  _ both _ out of here.

“So,” Viggo started, and Hiccup’s attention snapped to him. “Where do you acquire supplies? Are there any factories or farms you’ve looted?” 

Ryker was the one to answer, his gruff voice. “Always business with you, Viggo. But, yes. We’ve mapped the surrounding area. We’ve had to extend slightly past the nearest towns, but we’re primarily self sufficient. We rarely have to leave camp.” Ryker said, as if bragging. 

There was a long pause before Viggo spoke again. “Yes, well, I think it’d be smart if we acquire materials to better the camp before settling for what we already have,” Viggo said antagonistically. Hiccup could feel the tension from where he sat hidden under the table. 

There was another long silence that ended with Ryker standing up, sending his chair crashing to the ground. Hiccup flinched at the loud sound, turning to see the girl scooting away from the angry man. Wow, did that man have a short temper...

“Well,  _ brother.  _ Me and my men are surviving just _ fine _ without your  _ guidance _ ,” Ryker spat, hands gripping the table hard enough for the wood to creak. 

Viggo stayed completely calm, taking the time to take a long sip of his drink before replying. “Let’s be honest, Ryker. You were never one that anyone looked to as a leader,” Viggo said while slowly rising to his feet. “I merely advised that it would be smart to procure supplies before they are gathered by other communities. You wouldn’t want your men to be without food, medicine and weapons or overrun by other communities that did get the needed supplies, now would you?” 

Viggo left his place standing by his chair and instead walked to stand by Ryker. “I’m not here to undermine this community, brother. I’m here to enrich it. We must take what we want and work to ensure that the walls are impenetrable and that we can be self-sustainable. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t scavenge for any materials we can find to make life easier,” Viggo said, never losing his calm demeanor. 

“I have spent the last three years in the wilderness among the dead and other communities. I have more experience with the outside world and wish to share it so that we can be prepared for anything the world might throw at us. For example, there’s a community less than a day away from here with more men, more weapons, and more secure walls. If they discover this community, they will conquer it. Our war is not only against the dead, but against outside communities as well. We need to expand our reach and prepare to defend ourselves,” Viggo ended. 

Everyone sat silent for a while, probably nervous about the other community, and Ryker eventually sat back down, anger still radiating from him. Viggo walked back over to his own chair, but didn’t sit. “Now, let’s enjoy dinner. We’ll discuss strategy tomorrow, in front of all of  _ our _ men.” Viggo stood for another moment as if to let the term ‘our men’ fully register with everyone before he casually sat back down and reached to ruffle Hiccup’s hair. Hiccup was too stunned to pull away. 

Had the man just taken over Ryker’s camp with just a few simple words? None of the men said anything and Ryker, although silent, was still fuming if the girl’s tense and fearful posture were anything to go by.

Viggo didn’t seem upset about that in the least. “But for now, and as a show of trust, I’d like to ask for your men’s assistance with a… small problem of mine.”

Hiccup didn’t see what Viggo did after that, but several of the men began to chuckle.

“Well that would be an absolute  _ pleasure _ , Mr. Grimborn,” one of the men said. 

“Good. As for now, men, finish your dinner,” Viggo said in a pleased voice. “We can have dessert  _ after _ .”

Hiccup wondered why the man said it like that, but was distracted by watching the girl eating bits of food out of Ryker’s hand. He felt like he was invading her privacy in a way, so he turned away to stare at the red-haired man’s leg. 

He did note, almost sadly, that Viggo didn’t offer him food after he refused the first bite. That probably meant that he would go hungry tonight… great. Hiccup thumbed at the bandages wrapped around his stump, feeling unbearingly bleak. He felt sick from how hungry he was and going another night without anything to eat? He’d be even weaker. 

How was he supposed to escape or fight when he couldn’t even sit at a table and  _ eat _ ? 

He halfheartedly listened as the men ate and talked. Hopefully, they would all ignore him and he could go to sleep after this. Maybe he could get breakfast in the morning. 

He glanced up to Viggo’s abdomen, wishing he could see the man’s face. Or, more accurately, that the man could see  _ his _ face. He wanted food and wasn’t sure how to ask for it when he was basically invisible under this damn table. Although, even if he  _ could _ ask for food, was he really going to degrade himself by letting the man  _ hand feed _ him? Most likely not. He’d just have to go hungry and hope he could steal food later.

After what felt like  _ hours _ of sitting at the man’s feet and not eating, Hiccup really felt like he was about to fall asleep. He was becoming lightheaded and dizzy and felt nauseous with the lack of food. The men were talking above him, but Hiccup wasn’t listening. The headache that had been a dull throb was now shooting sharp spikes of pain through him. It hurt far too bad to willingly listen to them ramble on in their irritating voices. Finally, he couldn’t help but rest his head against Viggo’s leg, closing his eyes to try and keep the pounding in his head and dots dancing in his vision at bay.

Almost as soon as his head touched Viggo’s leg, he felt something press against his lips. He was startled at first, and jerked back before realizing that it was a piece of chicken. God, a part of him wanted to take it. He knew he’d be humiliated with himself later, and he sat there for several long seconds debating what to do. 

He knew he needed to keep his strength up both to defend himself and for his leg to heal so he could eventually escape. He pondered the question for a few seconds too long, and he watched as Viggo’s hand began to loosen around the piece of chicken. He panicked at the potential loss of something he wanted  _ very  _ much and before he could talk himself out of it, he leaned forward and accepted the food. It was very odd to feel fingers that weren’t his own on his lips, but he was soon distracted by that as the taste of the chicken lit up his senses. It was  _ amazing _ . 

His entire body seemed to fill with pleasure just at the small bite. It might have been more psychological than anything, but his stomach stopped complaining and his headache began to dissipate as he chewed. He felt a hand tangle in his hair and guide his head back to rest against Viggo’s knee, and, for once, wasn’t upset by it as he closed his eyes and enjoyed how the food flooded his mouth with flavor. Whoever cooked this is a  _ god. _

Before he could even swallow the bite another piece of food was offered. He paused again, wondering if the relief from his stomach pain was worth him hating himself tomorrow. Doing it  _ once _ could be written off as a moment of weakness, right? But twice? It was basically like selling your soul to the devil. 

He stared at the morsel of food, once again internally fighting with himself. Despite the stress building in him at his choice, he still ultimately surrendered and accepted the second piece of food. 

He felt sick with himself as there was another pat on his head, and pulled away from the hand and Viggo’s leg, not wanting to feel anymore like an animal than he already did. Depressingly, Viggo didn’t offer him a third bite of food. Hiccup waited, looking up at the man that seemed to be ignoring him. He was simultaneously relieved that now he would be  _ forced _ to go hungry and wouldn’t have the choice to belittle himself and also upset with the fact that he would be going hungry. 

For once, he was actually doing what Viggo wanted and he’s repaid by being taunted into compliance and then starved anyway. There couldn’t have been any possible way for Hiccup to feel worse with himself. He had done that for _two bites_ of food? Pathetic. 

After a few minutes of the men continuing to talk, Hiccup surrendered again to his body’s exhaustion and rested his head back on Viggo’s knee, wishing he could just fall off of the face of the earth. Again, as soon as his head was on Viggo’s knee, another piece of food was offered. Hiccup stared at the hand, realizing what was happening. If he put his head on Viggo’s knee then he was fed. He was both upset at being trained like a dog and also slightly relieved at the offer of more food.

God, he really  _ was _ pathetic. He felt self-loathing begin to overwhelm him as he accepted the offered food and felt a hand petting his head in reward. Before he could feel even  _ more _ sick with himself than he did because he was starving, there was another piece of food at his lips. He took it, nipping at Viggo’s fingers just for spite. The man chuckled above the table, but still rustled Hiccup’s hair. 

‘Did he have to do that  _ every _ time?’ Hiccup thought bitterly.

The feeding continued for several more minutes before most of the men were finished eating. Hiccup hadn’t really eaten much, but his stomach no longer hurt, so that was good. 

The conversation above the table died down and Viggo stood up, reaching a hand down to Hiccup and assisting him to his feet. As soon as he was on his feet, a wave of dizziness hit him and his vision darkened. He felt Viggo take more of his weight until Hiccup recovered a few moments later. Once he didn’t feel immediately at risk of passing out, he took a moment to stretch his joints before being led to the living room. 

He was confused as to why they were in the living room rather than a bed so he could sleep, but he was too tired to argue. 

Viggo sat down on a couch and pushed Hiccup back to the floor. He wanted to curse at the man and fight back to his feet, but he was exhausted and instead just groaned and all but collapsed against the couch. 

“Can we go to sleep?” Hiccup mumbled and Viggo chuckled and rubbed his head. 

“Not yet, dear. There’s still one more thing we have to accomplish tonight,” Viggo said and Hiccup noticed that the other four men had also moved to the living room. They were sitting down and intently staring at him and Viggo. 

The only man that hadn’t come to the living room was Ryker. He had pushed his chair back from the dining room table and had angled it towards him and Viggo. The girl was now sitting in his lap, her eyes boring into Hiccup’s, once again trying to warn him of something that he couldn’t decipher.

Suddenly, he felt very uncomfortable and his exhausted body was forced into alertness. He could feel adrenaline begin to course through him as he realized that something was seriously wrong here. The atmosphere in the house had taken a dangerous turn and had almost an electric charge to it. Any wrong move could start a horrible reaction. 

“Uh, what else do we have to ‘accomplish’ tonight,” Hiccup asked much quieter than he had intended to. He was carefully watching the four men sitting across from him, noting how their eyes lingered on his body. He shuddered, and Viggo chuckled. 

“Do you remember the number I gave you?” Viggo asked, trailing his fingers up the back of Hiccup’s neck. This made Hiccup shiver again, but he tried to concentrate to answer the man’s question. 

“Four?” He finally answered, taking his eyes off of the threat in front of him to glance back and gauge Viggo’s reaction. He needed to know what he was about to be up against. His body was vibrating with the need to either run or fight.

“Do you know what that number  _ represents _ , dear?” Viggo asked again in his disturbingly amused voice. 

Hiccup was looking at Viggo’s face, but couldn’t tell what the man was thinking. He couldn’t really focus on anything other than the creepy smile that adorned his face. He knew the numbers meant that he had done something that Viggo hadn’t liked, but he didn’t want to voice that in front of the men. Even if he could, how would he even word that? 

How many times he pissed Viggo off or refused to be treated like an animal?

He finally shrugged, and Viggo squeezed his shoulder tightly.

“Now, Hiccup. I know you can do better than that. You’re a smart boy. What do the numbers mean?” 

“Um, how many times I did something wrong?” Hiccup mumbled, hoping no one else could hear him in the eerily silent room.

“Hm, yes. Although, I  _ did _ let several instances slide. Don’t expect the same treatment in the future,” Viggo warned, turning his eyes away from Hiccup to look at the men. “Do you want to guess what your punishment will be, dear?”

Hiccup knew that wasn’t a question, but rather a command. The thing was, he didn’t  _ know _ what it could be. He had a horrible suspicion, but he couldn’t even put that thought into words as he looked out to the other men. Was Viggo really that cruel or was Hiccup jumping to the worst assumption? 

He stared at the men, terror building in him. 

When he didn’t reply, Viggo continued: “You act as if you don’t need my protection, Hiccup. So I’m going to show you exactly what would happen if I  _ didn’t  _ protect you.” Viggo kicked Hiccup away from him and Hiccup landed sprawled in the living room. At this, the men stood, stalking towards him. 

He got his hands underneath him and rapidly started to back away from the men and Viggo began to laugh. “Oh, you want me to defend you  _ now, _ dear? No, it's far too late for that. I don’t own  _ disrespectful _ pets so either you will learn, or you will be thrown to my men.” He pushed Hiccup back towards the men with his foot and Hiccup panicked at the sight of the men swiftly surrounding him. “For each time you disrespected me, you will be given to one of these men. You were disobedient four different times, one for each man present. Luckily for them, none of them will be left out, hm, dear?”

Hiccup cried out as the first man grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward. He desperately tried to fight the man off, but his other arm was wrenched away and he was forced to the ground. 

Once he was pinned, there was a moment of stillness in the room. Hiccup frantically tried to escape the desperate situation, wondering what they were doing. 

It wasn’t until he turned his head to the side that he saw they were all looking at Viggo, awaiting instructions. 

Viggo stood, sparing one last glance to Hiccup before addressing the men. “Do not tear him or draw blood. No bruising the face, no broken bones, and  _ one _ turn each, alright gentlemen?”

Viggo smiled at them as they all eagerly agreed before he turned on his heel and abandoned Hiccup to his fate. 

“No…” Hiccup whispered as he watched the man leave down the hallway towards their room.  _ This couldn’t happen _ . 

The men above him chuckled and then started arguing amongst themselves about who could go first. Hiccup felt bile creep its way up his throat. He turned his head and buried it in the rug below him. He didn’t know how he was supposed to endure this. Was this all his life would be from now on? Sexual torment and coercion? 

He felt a whine escape his throat and the men above him chuckled. He felt a hand in his hair before his head was jerked upwards and he was met with the grinning face of the red-haired man from earlier. 

“Not so tough now, huh little man?” The man said, grinning with his filthy, yellow teeth. “Don’t expect us to go soft on you, bitch.” His face was unceremoniously shoved back into the floor.

“I wanna have his mouth first,” a faceless man said as he moved to kneel in front of Hiccup.

“If you have his mouth first then you get his ass last.” 

“Who gets him first?” 

“I’m getting him first. You boys shoulda seen the look he gave me at dinner,” the red-haired man said. “I’m gonna make the whore regret it.”

Hiccup felt his eyes water and he squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could block out their voices and malicious words. His entire body was trembling, and there was nothing he wanted more than for his heart to stop beating to spare him from what he knew was coming. 

“Seems fair to me, Hank.”

The red-haired man,  _ Hank _ , ran his hand down Hiccup’s spine, lingering at the space between his shirt and his sweatpants. He tried to fight against the men pinning his shoulders down, but they were holding him like a vice, pressing bruises into his flesh. Hank straddled Hiccup’s legs before bracing a hand beside his face and leaning down to whisper in his ear. “I’m gonna enjoy this, freak,” he breathed before licking a stripe over the shell of Hiccup’s ear. 

Hiccup jerked away, disgust boiling in him as the men laughed. 

“Well, lads, no reason to wait,” Hank said, skimming his fingers across his waistband before yanking down Hiccup’s pants, exposing him to the world. Hiccup cried out again and began to squirm, but Hank grabbed his hips and jerked his rear upwards. “Ah, ah, ah… don’t hide that pretty pucker from me,  _ dear _ ,” Hank said, mocking Viggo’s pet name for him. 

Hiccup clenched his teeth and tried to keep from crying at the sheer embarrassment overwhelming him. He tried to flatten himself back to the ground, but Hank had a death grip on him. 

“Oh, struggle all you like; it’ll only make this more exciting,” Hank voiced before grinding against Hiccup’s bare bottom. Hiccup could feel the man’s hardness through the rough material of his jeans and shuddered again, feeling tears stream down his face. 

He could hear the clinking as a belt was undone and then again as it was tossed to the side. Hiccup sobbed as he heard a zipper being undone and then he felt something warm and wet being pressed against him. 

“Wait, we’re not supposed to tear him, Hank,” the man kneeling in front of Hiccup said, and Hank sighed, annoyed. “We should prep him, at least.”

“Fine, Jackson. Hand me the lube,” Hank said at last, pinching Hiccup’s rear in frustration. 

It was Ryker who responded. “Heather, go get the boys what they want.” 

Hiccup pulled his head up to see the girl,  _ Heather _ , stand before trodding off down the hallway. She returned a few moments later and gave Hiccup a pitying look before handing the bottle over to the men. 

Hiccup stared at her, wishing she would help him, but knowing that there was nothing she could do. She left, and Hiccup let his face drop back to the floor. The man in front of him, Jackson, reached forward and began to pet him. He heard the bottle being opened and then felt cold lube over his entrance. 

He gasped and in a last ditch effort, tried to pull away again, but the men holding his shoulders pressed down harder and Jackson grabbed a fistful of his hair and chuckled as he shoved him down. 

There was a thick finger breaching him and stretching him uncomfortably, causing Hiccup to cry out in both pain and embarrasement. He felt a burn inside of him and tried to bite back his whimper as the finger pushed deeper. It retracted before pushing back in. He heard a zipper in front of him, but couldn’t lift his head to see. 

The finger pulled out again before pushing back in far deeper than before. He heard a slick sound and a moan and the hand shoving his head to the ground relaxed and began to pet him again. He looked up to see Jackson stroking himself, eyes focused on him. 

Hiccup looked away, disgusted. The finger pulled out and there was more lube before two fingers were pushed back in. Hiccup winced, clenching his teeth to keep from making a sound at the awful stretch. The fingers were pumped in and out a few more times before they were retracted. 

“ _ That _ was more than you deserved, whelp,” Hank said. There was a sickening sound as the man slicked up his cock before lining himself up. Jackson grabbed his hair again and pulled his face up and Hiccup struggled to get his arms under him to support himself. 

“Oh, I wanna see your face for this one, doll,” he said, grabbing him under the chin and using his thumb to brush away a stray tear. He held his face in place, locking his dark brown eyes with Hiccup’s green ones. 

Hank pushed in and Hiccup gasped, trying to arch away from the intrusion. Hank harshly grabbed his hips, frustrated at Hiccup’s struggling, before thrusting as deep as he could go. Hiccup couldn’t hold back the guttural cry that left him, and Jackson and Hank moaned in unison at the sound, making Hiccup redden in shame. 

“God, you’re so hot,” Jackson said and another man nodded, letting go of Hiccup’s shoulders and grabbing one of his wrists. He felt his hand being pressed into the man’s crotch and he tried to jerk his hand away, his wrist screaming in pain as it was held in place despite his struggle. 

The man grinded into his hand with a sign and Jackson pushed his thumb into his mouth, pressing the calloused appendage against his tongue. Hiccup tried to pull away from all three men, distraught at feeling their grips tighten to hold him in place. 

“Oh, no. This is  _ exactly _ where you were meant to be,” Hank said before pulling almost all the way out before thrusting back in. Hiccup cried out again and Jackson tightened his grip on his chin before trying to force his face towards his manhood. Hiccup felt hot tears burn a trail down his face and he tried to mumble his pleas around the man’s thumb in his mouth. 

“C’mon, doll. Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” the man said, but once seeing that Hiccup was using the one hand he still had under him as leverage to keep his head from being anywhere near the man’s crotch, he released his cock and pressed the dirty hand in Hiccup’s hair before forcing him down. Hank gave another harsh thrust and Hiccup’s arm finally gave out, allowing Jackson to lower his mouth towards his crotch. Hiccup stifled a sob as the man’s cock was suddenly rubbing against his cheek. The man thrusted, rubbing himself against Hiccup’s face and leaving behind a smear of precum. 

Hiccup felt sick. “Alright, doll.  _ Don’t  _ bite me or I’ll ensure  _ you _ lose  _ your _ manhood, too,” Jackson warned before releasing Hiccup’s chin and grabbing his cock to line it up with Hiccup’s mouth. “Be a good boy and open up…” the man said before attempting to press himself into Hiccup’s mouth. Hiccup clenched his teeth, refusing the man. Jackson sighed, but didn’t seem upset. 

“Heather, doll. Could you fetch me your special muzzle?” Jackson said before turning back to Hiccup and stroking his face. 

Hiccup tried to ignore the steady thrusts and burn of Hank’s cock inside him. It was excruciating to hear the soft moans and sighs detailing the man’s pleasure. The other man was unzipping his pants and pressing Hiccup’s hand into the warm flesh. The man wrapped his hand around Hiccup’s making him grasp his cock as he slowly thrusted into their combined hands. 

Heather returned, holding some weird device in her hands. Jackson took it and sent a pointed look to Hank who chuckled and grabbed a fistful of Hiccup’s hair. Hiccup gasped, his scalp tender from all of the rough treatment as he was jerked upwards. Jackson took advantage of his gasp and quickly shoved the odd device in his mouth. Hiccup struggled, but couldn’t pull out of Hank’s grasp. Jackson managed to get the device placed properly and Hank released him. Jackson shoved his face back down before he could recover and used his elbow to keep Hiccup pinned as he fastened the awful device around his face. 

Hiccup couldn’t close his mouth, the thing keeping his mouth open unnaturally wide. Hank began to thrust again and Jackson released him, giving him a small pat on the head before lining himself up with Hiccup’s mouth. He tried to pull away, yet again, but of course, wouldn’t be so lucky. 

The man pushed in, and Hiccup whined as his mouth was invaded. Jackson, unlike Hank, was taking his time, slowly pressing himself deeper. Hank seemed to notice and gave a particularly hard thrust that shoved Hiccup forward, forcing Jackson further down his throat. Hiccup gagged, and Jackson petted him, continuously pressing further. 

“Gods,  _ finally _ ,” Jackson moaned, head thrown back as he pulled out and thrusted back in. Hiccup gagged again, feeling his eyes water. 

“That’s it,” Hank said as he gradually picked up his pace. Hiccup endured as the men took their pleasure from him, trying to stay as quiet as possible. He didn’t want to give these men any more satisfaction. 

The pace continued to increase, both men now desperately chasing their end. Hiccup closed his eyes, trying to block out what was happening. Hank smacked Hiccup’s rear and Hiccup jolted, but couldn’t escape the men’s cocks. Hank smacked him again, this time much harder and Jackson moaned while watching. 

There was an audible smacking sound as both men’s balls were slapping against both Hiccup’s ass and his face. Hank continued to rain down hits upon Hiccup’s rear, and Hiccup knew there was no way he could be any more humiliated. 

The men continued, groaning and sighing in pleasure as their harse pace continued. Hiccup could barely keep up. Each time he had reprieve from the cock in his throat and tried to gasp in air, the air was pushed back out of him by the sheer force with which he was being fucked. 

Hank came first, delivering a painful slap to already bruised flesh and giving several harsh thrusts before sinking in as deep as he could before grinding his release into Hiccup. 

Hiccup felt the uncomfortably hot liquid seep into him and felt himself shake harder. He doesn’t know how he’s going to live with himself after this. 

“Man,  _ gross _ . Now I have to have your sloppy seconds,” one man complained as he and Hank switched places. Jackson pulled out, looking down at Hiccup’s tearfilled face and reached for Hiccup’s T-shirt, tugging it off of him despite the complaint of the man currently taking advantage of Hiccup’s hand. Once his shirt was off, Jackson used it to wipe away Hiccup’s tears and snot. 

“Turn him over,” the man that had swapped with Hank said and he and Jackson did, pushing Hiccup to his back. Hiccup shuddered, somehow feeling even more exposed now. He could see Heather still on Ryker’s lap, watching him with tears in her eyes. That made Hiccup feel even  _ worse _ . She was watching as he was degraded… as he was literally having his sense of self soiled for the rest of his life.

Hiccup’s legs were lifted and he was pulled into the new man’s lap, having only a moment to prepare himself before he was being filled again, this time by a much thicker cock. The stretch burned again and Hiccup looked down at the blond man currently fucking him, ashamed to find that he was drooling on himself because of the gag not allowing him to close his mouth. Jackson titled his head back towards him before pushing Hiccup’s bangs out of his face and giving him an almost soft look. He moved to kneel over him, tilting Hiccup’s head back at an odd angle so the man could enter his mouth again. He slid his length back down Hiccup’s throat and Hiccup closed his eyes, not sure what he could possibly do to stop this torment. 

Hank had retreated to sit on a couch, the couch squeaking under his weight. The other man grabbed Hiccup’s wrist again, guiding his hand back to his length. Hiccup grasped the man’s cock and began to pump him, hoping he could get him to finish  _ before _ he could do something else much worse. 

He was rocked between Jackson and the other man, both steadily increasing their pace. 

“Doll, use your tongue,” Jackson whispered to him in a breathy voice and Hiccup did, hoping it would mean this torture woud end sooner. Jackson moaned as Hiccup ran his tongue across his length as the man thrusted back in, and it wasn’t too many more thrusts before the man finished down his throat. 

Hiccup choked and sputtered, but couldn’t do anything other than swallow the vile liquid. Jackson pulled out, staring at the trail of spit connecting his cock to Hiccup’s mouth. He didn’t have much time before he was pushed out of the way by the other man who Hiccup had been stroking. He hardly had a second to breath before his mouth was filled again. He reached his hands up, pressing against the man’s hips, but the man seemed to enjoy Hiccup’s hands on him and simply continued his administrations. 

The two men had slowed down a bit, trying to draw out the moment and Hiccup whined low in his throat. He jerked as he felt hands on his chest trailing upwards. There were fingers on his nipples and Hiccup tried to squirm away. 

“Shh, doll. You should enjoy this too,” Jackson said as he continued to twist and flick his nipples before leaning down and running his tongue over them. Hiccup tensed, wondering how in the world  _ anything  _ could feel good right now. Jackson pulled back with a laugh. “Well, it seems like you’re already enjoying yourself, hm?”

Hiccup didn’t know what he was talking about until he felt a hand wrap around his half-hard length. He moaned around the length in his mouth as he was slowly stroked. The three men chuckled and slowed down their pace, savoring Hiccup’s pleasure. The man thrusting into him changed his angle slightly, lifting one of Hiccup’s legs over his shoulder. He thrusted in slowly and Hiccup moaned again at the pleasure that flooded him as his cock brushed against  _ something _ inside of him. 

This made the men chuckle again. 

“Hey, this is supposed to be his  _ punishment _ ,” Hank growled from his place on the couch. “The whore isn’t supposed to enjoy it.” Hank stood and walked over, taking his place on Hiccup’s other side. Hiccup felt nails dig into his skin and being dragged down his abdomen. Hank pushed Jackson’s hand out of the way before grabbing Hiccup’s length in a harsh grip. 

Hiccup jerked in shock and Hank laughed, painfully squeezing him. There was a hand on his chest and then his nipple was twisted painfully. Hiccup cried out against the cock in his mouth and the man simply chuckled and thrusted harder into Hiccup’s mouth, now savoring Hiccup’s cries of pain instead of his cries of pleasure. Hiccup choked, trying to shove the man away with one hand as he tried to push Hank’s hand off of his chest. 

Hank grabbed his hand and twisted it before pressing it into the floor. He pressed his foot against Hiccup’s wrist and pinned it to the ground with his boot. 

“Now, let ‘em have it, boys,” Hank said, voice full of mirth. The men chuckled and picked up their pace, sending pain racing up Hiccup’s spine and down his throat. The men were breathing deeply as they continued, Hiccup trying and failing to stay quiet.

The man in his mouth reached down and pinched HIccup’s nose shut, sending another wave of panic through Hiccup. He continued to thrust into his mouth, despite Hiccup gagging and flailing for air. He picked up the pace, panting as he continued. His pumps continued, but just when Hiccup felt his vision begin to darked, the thrusts slowed until he was grinding his release down Hiccup’s throat. He kept his nose pinched shut as he orgasmed and then for several seconds afterwards as he basked in the afterglow. 

He slowly pulled out and released Hiccup’s nose and he desperately fought for air, drawing in deep lungfuls and trying to get the blackness edging at his vision to disappear. He didn’t have much time to recover before Hank was there, glaring down as his tearfilled eyes with absolute apathy. He, too, slid his hard length down Hiccup’s throat and Hiccup sobbed at the onslaught. 

“Don’t worry, whelp. You won’t have to endure for much longer,” Hank promised before once again reaching down and pinching Hiccup’s nose shut. Hiccup cried harder as he fought for breath.

Hank began to thrust harshly down Hiccup’s sore throat. Hiccup felt the man’s balls slap against his face and the man’s hand wrap around his exposed throat. He squeezed, making the cock sliding down his throat hurt even worse. The man continued, bragging loudly at his pleasure. 

“God, you were  _ made _ to be somebody’s bitch,” he rumbled. Hiccup tried to dislodge the man’s hand from his nose, but as his vision darkened, his struggles became weaker. His hands went lax, and his vision darked. The last thing he was aware of before his mind lost to unconsciousness, was Hank’s laughter. 

When Hiccup came to, he felt himself being lowered into someone’s lap. There was a cock in him and he turned to look, but someone's length was down his throat, pinning his head in place. He was sitting up, being lifted up and down on someone’s length and someone  _ else _ was thrusting down his throat. There were moans around him and the slick sound of people masturbating. He stayed awake for a few more moments, but when the darkness returned, he welcomed it. 

When he blinked his eyes open a third time, he saw skin. He was sitting in someone’s lap, leaning against their chest as they fucked him. His body was lax, exhausted from what he’s endured. He tried to lean his head back to see who it was, but soon gave up moving when it sent a wave of dizziness over him. He felt gross and sticky as nausea swam through him. 

He heard laughter, but ignored it, closing his eyes again. 

The final time he woke up, he was alone on the living room floor. The house was dark, but the faint light from the moon still filtered in and showed his naked body covered in fluids. He had been discarded like trash on the living room floor after the men were done with him. There wasn’t another person in sight, and Hiccup was thankful for that. He couldn’t bear for anyone to see him like this.

He tried not to think about the fact that everyone already  _ had. _

Shame flooded him and Hiccup felt his face flame in humiliation. His body was sore and sticky, accounting for what he had just done. Despite the utter exhaustion encompassing him, he felt his body begin to shake and sobs build up the back of his throat. 

He shoved the emotions down and pushed himself out of the center of the living room, trying to ignore the fierce aches and sharp pains shooting through his body. He managed to get over to the wall of the room before taking a moment to compose himself now that he didn’t feel as exposed as he had in the center of the room. He tried to cover himself as he looked around for his clothes, but they were nowhere to be found. 

His eyes watered and the emptiness in his chest seemed to expand until he felt vacant, like there was nothing left but his physical being. He pulled his good leg to his chest and wrapped his arms around it before burying his face in his knee. 

_ What the hell was he supposed to do? _

He couldn’t bear to process what just happened so he needs to focus on the now and how he was going to handle it. He tried to calm his rapid breathing and figure out what he  _ could _ do.

He took several deep breaths before lifting his head to look towards the hallway leading towards Viggo’s room. Before he could process what he was even doing, he pushed himself away from the wall and crawled towards the dark hallway. 

There was no light in the hallway, and Hiccup dragged his hand across the wall, trying to feel for the door. He prayed he could remember which door led to Viggo’s room. He didn’t want to stay out in the open with no clothes, evidence of what he’s just done displayed all across his body. 

He felt the ridges of the doorframe and ran his fingers along the door before reaching up for the handle. He twisted the door knob, but it caught after turning slightly. It was locked. Viggo had locked him out. 

Hiccup felt tears build and spill over his face as he debated what to do. He could try and find another empty room, but what if one of the men were there? What if  _ Hank _ was there? 

Hiccup shuddered as the horrid memories reemerged of what the man had done to him. He had  _ enjoyed _ Hiccup being in pain; they all had. Hiccup swallowed down the bile rising in his throat and looked back at the door in front of him. 

He steeled himself as he raised his hand to knock on the door. He prayed that Viggo wouldn’t beat him for waking him up or, worse,  _ abandon _ him out here all night. He took a deep breath and knocked quietly on the door. After several moments, Hiccup assumed that the man hadn’t heard him and prepared to knock louder, but then he heard shuffling on the other side of the door. Soon, the door was opening and there was Viggo, dressed only in pajama pants as he stared down at Hiccup. 

He had a disappointed look in his eye and was blocking the entrance to the room with his body. They stared at one another in silence, Viggo calmly appraising Hiccup with the soft light emitted from a bedside lamp and Hiccup trembling and fighting to not fall apart in front of the man. 

Finally, Viggo spoke. “What do you want, Hiccup?”

Hiccup paused, not having expected that response. Hiccup didn’t answer for several moments, trying to figure out what to ask for, but Viggo sighed impatiently and after another long moment began to shut the door. 

“Wait!” Hiccup called out, lurching forward and grabbing unto Viggo’s pants. Hiccup didn’t know  _ what _ to ask for. He was terrified that Viggo would turn him away. He just wanted somewhere safe to stay for the night so he could stop  _ shaking. _ Viggo was still apathetically looking down at him and Hiccup tried to get his hands to cease their death grip on Viggo’s pants. He couldn’t and dropped his eyes to look at Viggo’s bare feet. 

“Please,” Hiccup whispered, praying that the man could hear him. 

“Please  _ what _ , dear?” Viggo said, voice deep from sleep. 

Hiccup shook his head, desperately trying to form all of what he wanted to convey to Viggo into words. 

“Are you here for my protection, Hiccup?” Viggo said, leaning against the doorway. 

Hiccup looked up at him, trying to make out the man's face through his tear blurred vision. He nodded and Viggo grinned. 

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Viggo said, grin growing slightly. He was teasing Hiccup, rubbing his face in his defeat. 

Hiccup knew exactly what the man wanted him to say and so he met his eyes and whispered the cursed words. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry for  _ what _ , exactly?” Viggo inquired, now openly mocking Hiccup’s situation. 

Hiccup frowned, desperately just wanting to get inside the room so he could have some semblance of safety and privacy back. “I’m sorry for disrespecting you,” he finally admitted, praying it would suffice. 

“One last question, dear. Do you think that I enjoyed what transpired tonight?” Viggo asked, eyes boring into Hiccup’s. 

Hiccup had to look away from the man’s intense gaze. It felt like Viggo could pick his way right through to his soul with just his eyes. “I-I…” Hiccup trailed off, trying to think as to what the right answer would be. He thought back to their conversations that day and then realized what Viggo wanted to hear. “No. No, you didn’t,” Hiccup said, finally lifting his gaze to meet Viggo’s. 

Viggo nodded and then fell silent for several long seconds, making Hiccup fear that he had said something wrong. 

“Then why do you think that I allowed it?” Viggo said, tone inquisitive, as if he truly wanted to know where Hiccup’s thoughts lied. 

Hiccup paused again, feeling a shiver run up his body at the cool night air. “B-because I let you down,” Hiccup said, mimicking Viggo’s words from earlier that morning. God, that felt like a lifetime ago.

Viggo’s tense posture melted and he relaxed considerably. “Good job, Hiccup. Now come inside, dear, and let’s get you cleaned up,” Viggo said, stepping aside and finally allowing Hiccup to crawl into the room. Hiccup brightened at the prospect of cleaning the feel of the men's hands off of his skin. Once inside, Viggo shut the door and Hiccup pulled himself to his foot, using the door frame as leverage. 

Viggo didn’t touch him to help him get to the bathroom and, instead, left Hiccup by the door and went to cut the bathroom light on. Hiccup tried to hop towards him, already imagining the warm bath, but his foot gave out and he collapsed to the ground. Frustrated, he crawled the rest of the way to the light of the bathroom.

Once there, he saw Viggo kneeling by the tub and running water. Hiccup pulled himself closer and waited. Viggo tested the water and, once satisfied, backed away and allowed Hiccup to pull himself into the tub. 

Viggo never put the drain in and began to fill a cup with warm water before dumping it over Hiccup’s head, letting the dirty water travel right back down the drain. The water felt  _ amazing _ as it washed away the evidence of what was done to him, and Hiccup eagerly began to scrub at his skin as Viggo washed his hair. Hiccup was confused to realize that, for once, Hiccup felt really glad to have Viggo at his side. He  _ knew _ it was messed up. He  _ knew _ all that had happened had happened  _ because _ of Viggo, but it was still better than being all alone. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if Viggo hadn’t let him in. 

Soon, Hiccup was cleaner than he had been in months. He hadn’t fought when Viggo began to shave his legs, fearful that the man would kick him out of the room and leave him to the wolves if he ‘disrespected’ the man again. So he sat silently, cleaning his face for the third time, paying careful attention to his lips and even scrubbed at his tongue when he thought Viggo wasn’t looking. The man shaved both of his legs and then gestured for Hiccup to raise his arms. Hiccup awkwardly complied, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment as the man shaved his armpits. 

After Viggo and Hiccup were content with his cleanliness, Viggo rinsed him one last time with warm water before wrapping him in a soft towel and carrying him to the bed. Hiccup felt content and safe up until they reached the bed. 

Viggo wasn’t going to  _ fuck _ him, was he? Hiccup wasn't sure whether his mental state could survive another experience like that. He eyed the man fearfully, but the older man seemed more interested in towel drying Hiccup’s hair than anything else. Once his hair was semi-dry, Viggo went to the bedside table and pulled out a bottle of prescription pills. He offered one to Hiccup along with a cup of water and Hiccup forced himself to take it despite the fear of what the pill could be. If he refused, Viggo could easily throw him back out, and that could _ not _ happen.

After he had taken the pill, Viggo pulled him under the covers and Hiccup felt another flash of fear as he was pulled flush with the other man’s chest. Viggo seemed to notice Hiccup’s tenseness because he shushed him and kissed his temple before mumbling for Hiccup to go to sleep. 

Hiccup didn’t relax much, not sure whether he should trust the man or not. Viggo reached a hand up and began to rub Hiccup’s arm soothingly. Hiccup relaxed slightly, and his exhaustion pulled at his eyelids. He fought to stay awake, however, not wanting to leave himself vulnerable. They laid pressed against one another for a long time, Viggo stroking down Hiccup’s arm and remaining still and quiet. 

Viggo was acting as if he was trying to not spook a wild animal, but that’s honestly how Hiccup felt. His body, although tired, was still as alert as ever, watching for any sign that the man might harm him. After several long minutes of laying in bed, Hiccup could feel the medicine start to affect his body. His eyelids were steadily drooping lower and lower, his soreness and exhaustion only adding to the need for sleep. Finally, Hiccup surrendered and let his eyes drift shut, the feel of Viggo’s warm breath ghosting over his ear the last sensation he felt before being pulled into a peaceful slumber. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Let me know what you think down in the comments!
> 
> Also, whose POV would you like to see next?


	9. The Contract

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that this chapter took longer than expected! 
> 
> I'm currently in nursing school and it's a lot more work than I anticipated!
> 
> Anyway, here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it.

Viggo’s eyes were transfixed on the auburn-haired young thing sprawled across his chest. Hiccup’s face was lax with sleep, although there was still the faintest crease between his eyes, as if he was even distressed in his sleep. There was a small trail of drool leading from his rosy lips to Viggo’s chest, but the older man couldn’t bring himself to care, instead, tracing those delicate lips with his fingertips. 

His boy looked almost peaceful in sleep, a far cry from last night when he had turned up outside his door, terrified and shaking uncontrollably. It had been difficult to see Hiccup so distraught, but Viggo knew it was necessary. The screams and cries still echoed hauntingly through Viggo’s mind, and he had to take a deep breath trying to get the horrible sound out of his head. It had been excruciating to turn his back and abandon Hiccup to his fate, but it was a calculated risk that Viggo believed to be worth it. Besides, it  _ had _ worked, hadn’t it?

Here Hiccup was, laying basically on top of him, sleeping peacefully. God, looking down at Hiccup’s ruffled bed hair and his pale skin, Viggo could almost pretend that last night hadn’t happened. His boy looked  _ regal,  _ as if he was always meant to rule at Viggo’s side. 

The only thing shattering the illusion of tranquility in their little world were the dark purple and brown bruises that marred his boy’s skin. Not because they were  _ there _ , but because Viggo hadn’t caused them.

It was alright, though; Hiccup would heal. He was strong and Viggo knew that despite Hiccup surrendering to him last night, there was much more fight left in him. Fear, exhaustion, and shame are what brought Hiccup crawling back to him, but soon, Hiccup would come willingly. 

Hiccup would become his  _ companion _ , not just some fucktoy scared of its own shadow. Hiccup would grow to not only be his lover, but his partner, someone that Viggo could trust to help lead this community. And Viggo knew Hiccup would prove himself to be an excellent leader. His intelligence alone was enough to attract Viggo’s attention, but the boy was also skilled in mechanics which was  _ very  _ necessary for the survival of their community.

Viggo tentatively pulled his hand out from under the covers and rested it on Hiccup’s back, trying not to wake him. He’d been laying here for hours, most likely, and he could hear the movement of the other men around the camp. He should be up and directing the men, cementing his position as leader and earning their trust. 

Instead, he seemed glued to the spot, not wanting Hiccup to wake and destroy the peace that has encased them. Viggo considered himself a patient man, but he hated having to wait and shape and mold Hiccup. He was trying to speed up the process, last night being an example, but he wasn’t sure if he would continue with the brute force strategy. He couldn’t risk breaking Hiccup any more. Not how his blasted brother tortured his own pet. 

Hiccup might see him as cruel, but Viggo didn’t  _ enjoy _ Hiccup’s suffering. He simply did what was necessary to achieve the desired results. He didn’t want Hiccup to lose all confidence in himself or be fearful of him. He wanted  _ respect _ , sure, but that doesn’t mean he expects Hiccup to walk on eggshells around him. He wants them to be comfortable around one another and begin to build a level of trust. 

God he had everything going according to plan before that blasted Drago Bludvist. Viggo stupidly revealed his hand because he was sure he wasn’t going to survive the day. It was his greatest failure with Hiccup. If he had kept true to his word, their escape could have been shaped into him rescuing Hiccup and bringing him into his own home because it was defendable and had water and electricity,  _ not _ as imprisoning Hiccup.

Instead, Hiccup views him as a pervert who only wants him for sex. To counteract this, he had  _ intended _ to let the other men hurt Hiccup sexually and continue to take things slowly between them, but Hiccup wasn’t stupid. Viggo would have to be more creative if he was to get Hiccup to fall in line.

And although he is willing to do whatever is required to achieve his desired result, he admits he most likely won’t allow the men to ever touch Hiccup again. Last night was just as much a punishment for  _ him _ as it was for Hiccup. It disgusted him when other people touched his toys. Besides that, it made his skin crawl to lose control over his pets. He preferred to control the specifics when it pertained to what was his,  _ especially  _ Hiccup. 

He had been angry last night, and because of that, allowed the men to hurt what was his. Sure, it had worked as Viggo had intended, but perhaps a tad  _ too _ well. It had been clear last night that Hiccup had been in shock, something that Viggo takes quite seriously. It can be a fatal condition, and Viggo isn’t sure how he would manage if he were to actually lose Hiccup for good.

Although he doubts he’ll use the method again or allow others to put Hiccup in such a vulnerable mental state, he agrees it was the most logical course of action. It was the quickest way to get Hiccup to depend on him, and sure enough, here his boy was, sleeping peacefully in their bed. 

He smoothed a hand down the curve of Hiccup’s spine, intently watching his face as Hiccup’s eyebrows drew together in a small scowl. He traced his fingers back up Hiccup’s back, taking a deep breath and trying to cement this moment into his brain. 

They were safe and content, Hiccup’s head on Viggo’s chest and outstretched arm resting on Viggo’s bicep. He kept the arm Hiccup was touching still, and let his other hand dance its way up, fingers thrumming against the supple skin before eventually tangling in Hiccup’s hair. 

He gently massaged the boy’s scalp, but even that small gesture caused his eyebrows to furrow in his sleep, as if the touch pained him. Viggo frowned, moving his hand to stroke Hiccup’s back instead. 

The sunlight pouring in through the window illuminated the room just enough for Viggo to map out the bruises littered across Hiccup’s pale skin. He could see the dark blotches encasing the boy’s neck and the smaller bruises tracing his jawline. Viggo stroked along the bruised flesh, letting his hands trace down to the purple and browns covering the sensitive skin. Then, he dipped lower, tracing down Hiccup’s exposed shoulder blades before smoothing his hand down the length of his boy’s arm. 

There were dark bruises surrounding his skinny wrist, and Viggo tsked softly to himself. His wrists had been injured ever since Viggo had to tie him down in the truck, but at this rate, they would never heal. He would have to find something to wrap them with. 

He pushed the blanket covering their bare skin further down to reveal the bruises covering Hiccup’s hips. 

Hiccup began to stir as the blanket was moved, and so Viggo, still studying the varying bruises covering his pet, dragged his hand slowly up Hiccup’s back and began to softly pet his hair. He watched, amused, as Hiccup groaned softly in his sleep before falling back into a peaceful slumber. 

There was a long stillness draping them in peace as Viggo petted Hiccup’s hair and down his arms and back. It did, eventually, come crashing to a halt as Viggo felt around the boy’s scalp, pressing a tad deeper to try to see if he had hurt his head last night. He did feel two different lumps, and Hiccup frowned in his sleep at the discomfort before stiffening. Viggo stilled his movements, hoping that his boy would fall back asleep, but instead, he was soon met with confused emerald eyes, trying to blink the sleep haze away.

There was a fleeting moment of tranquility as Hiccup woke fully, but as soon as his eyes were clear, his face dropped in shock before he was scrambling to get off Viggo’s chest. Viggo let him go, deciding it would be better to not start their morning out with a fight. 

Hiccup was soon on the far side of the bed, face red and trying to cover himself with their green quilt. He was breathing heavily and with wide eyes, but the look of terror only lasted for a moment before it melted into an angry and distrustful look. The aggression did nothing, however, to hide the boy’s trembling frame.

Viggo took his time sitting up and stretching before reaching for the quilt to wipe the pool of drool off of his chest. At this, Hiccup seemed to realize what had happened and his face flushed an even deeper shade of red before he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“Good morning, dear,” Viggo greeted before finally meeting Hiccup’s gaze. 

Hiccup, unsurprisingly, didn’t respond and was instead watching Viggo as if expecting him to attack. Viggo rolled his eyes and pulled himself out of bed. “Stay here; I’ll be back,” Viggo said before pulling on some clothes and then exiting the room. 

He sighed, knowing it would be a  _ long _ time before Hiccup would wake up how Viggo wanted: smiling and laughing and playfully swatting at one another as they procrastinated leaving their warm cocoon.

He felt a pang of hurt in his chest and tried to push the thought of blue eyes firmly out of his mind. He took a breath, trying to ignore the tightening in his chest. It would do no good to reminisce about the past when he had a chance to build a future right in front of him. It doesn’t matter that he’s starting from scratch, something he hasn’t had to do for over a decade. 

Sure, he’s trained plenty of boys, but he’s only ever trained one for  _ himself _ . It was easy to break a person, smothering their hope and self-esteem until they were an empty shell of their former self like what most people wanted, but getting someone to actually  _ want _ to be your pet? Now  _ that _ was a different story entirely. 

He had done it once before, and he would do it again. He had the task of writing his and Hiccup’s story, and he was sure to do it justice, no matter how grueling of a task it proved to be.

He entered the kitchen, seeing the dark-haired girl, Heather, as she mended a pair of pants. Viggo had to admit, she had excellent stitchwork. He was decent, but hated doing it himself. Perhaps he would let Hiccup spend the next several days shadowing Heather to learn all that she did. It would at least give him something to do while he healed and maybe even help keep him out of trouble.

She looked up, her green eyes so much like Hiccup’s as she glared at him. Most wouldn’t notice, but he could see the anger burning behind those green orbs. Ryker definitely hadn’t broken her as much as he thought. 

Viggo simply grinned at her, ignoring the animosity rising between them as the girl finally lowered her eyes and set her things down. 

“Would you like breakfast, Mr. Grimborn? I can fix you a plate,” she said, voice steady, but still betraying a hint of aggression, as if she held what happened to Hiccup last night against him.

He shook his head and she turned away from him and continued repairing the pair of jeans. “No worries; I can fix it myself, Miss Heather, but thank you,” he said before entering the kitchen and seeing the apparent leftovers from what was prepared earlier this morning. No one except Heather was in the house, it seemed. Most must have already begun working for the day, or at what these lazy men  _ considered _ as work. 

He grabbed a plate and two glasses and piled the plate high with the meager food the camp had. There was what he supposed passed as bread and what looked to be deer sausage. 

_ Pitiful _ .

He microwaved the plate and, once the food was warm, he brought it back to Hiccup, well aware of the girl’s eyes following him as he left. 

He opened the door, not at all surprised to see that Hiccup was not where he had left him. 

The bathroom door was shut, and there was water running, signaling that Hiccup was inside. He set the plate of food down before stepping towards the door. Of course, it was locked, and he knocked, calling for Hiccup to open the door. 

The water cut off instantly, but he didn’t receive a reply. Sighing, he reached above the door frame and pulled down a metal pin to unlock the wooden door. There was a loud click as it unlocked and Viggo pushed open the door. 

Hiccup was startled by his entrance and pulled away from where he had been by the sink, almost falling before righting himself by grabbing the towel rack.

He had apparently rummaged through Viggo’s dresser to find some clothes and was dressed in a pair of his sweats and one of his T-shirts that were far too large on his small frame. 

Despite the clothes hanging loosely off of him, they did nothing to hide his trembling. His face was wet with tears and he wouldn’t look Viggo in the eye, instead electing to stare at the floor between them.

Viggo leaned against the door frame, trapping Hiccup in the small room. They stood there for several long moments, Hiccup scowling at the floor while trying to hide his shaking and Viggo intently watching Hiccup’s every move, annoyed at having to deal with the boy’s antics again. 

Finally, Viggo broke the silence, deciding to try and be understanding and sympathetic despite the entire ordeal being entirely the boy’s own fault. “Are you alright, dear?” He watched as Hiccup’s gaze shifted upward, hateful emerald eyes boring into his own. 

Hiccup glared at him, face displaying his disbelief. “What the fuck do you mean ‘ _ am I alright?’  _ Of fucking course I’m not alright! Y-you-...” Hiccup trailed off, fists clenched tightly and pressing against the sides of his head, eyes squeezed shut as if he was trying to block a memory. 

“You-” his voice broke as he tried to speak again, and Viggo stepped closer, one hand outstretched to touch Hiccup. 

He tried to jerk away, backing himself into the wall as Viggo slowly crowded him. Viggo reached forward and pulled Hiccup’s hands away from his head, pulling them down and stepping even closer. 

“It  _ is _ alright, Hiccup. I was upset at your disobedience and punished you... harshly,” Viggo said, speaking softly and trailing one hand up Hiccup’s arm, noting how it shook underneath him. “Now, I personally  _ never _ want that to happen again, dear. But I need you to understand that the  _ only _ time you will  _ ever _ be hurt while you are by my side is when you do something to bring it upon yourself.” He cupped Hiccup’s face, tilting the boy’s head back to meet his eyes. “Do you understand, love?”

Hiccup’s eyes were filled with venom and he seemed to be waging a war in his mind before he finally sneered and then spit on Viggo’s face. 

Viggo reared back, stunned at the boy’s idiotic actions. He grabbed the hand towel sitting on the bathroom sink all while still glaring at Hiccup. 

He was still fighting to keep a brave face, but Viggo could see the terror Hiccup was trying to hide. 

Viggo wiped the spit off of his face before setting the towel back down. He regarded Hiccup for a long time before speaking. “I know you’re upset, Hiccup, but is it really wise to bite the hand that feeds you? You just witnessed  _ last night _ what would happen if I didn’t claim you as my own,” Viggo threatened, trying to keep a calm and level voice. Getting upset now would only justify Hiccup’s bad behavior and even encourage it.

Besides, there was no point in hurting Hiccup any further. It would only lead Hiccup to begin thinking of him as the enemy and that’s not how Viggo wanted to be seen. Hiccup needed to fall back on him for support and comfort. Viggo needed them to trust one another so not only would Hiccup confide in Viggo, but so that Viggo could confide in  _ him _ as well. 

A trustworthy and loyal partner to aid him in running the camp and to warm his bed at night.

As it was, he currently had a petrified kid balancing on one foot and fighting to stay standing as he trembled from either fear or low blood sugar. Probably both. Who could tell? It’s been quite a while since he’s eaten other than the few bites last night. 

Viggo took a deep breath before reaching forward once more to grab Hiccup’s wrist. “Come here and I’ll wrap your wrists,” Viggo said, trying to placate Hiccup and distract them both from the rising tension in the room. “It’d be good for you to focus on the  _ now _ . It won’t do you any good to think of last night. It will most likely  _ never _ happen again unless  _ you _ cause it, Hiccup. Understand?” Viggo cupped Hiccup’s face again but the boy’s eyes were downcast, eyebrows creased in thought.

Viggo shook Hiccup slightly to gain the boy’s full attention. “Hiccup, I need you to listen to me. I’m not your enemy here.” That earned him a rather pissed look. “You think I  _ want _ you to show up bruised and terrified at my door, barely keeping yourself together while covered in other men’s filth? Or finding you terrified and cornered in a bathroom? It’s  _ pathetic _ , dear. Why would I want to see you like this?” 

Now that Hiccup was looking at him and listening, even if he  _ was _ still glaring, Viggo gently guided them out of the bathroom and set Hiccup down on the bed, despite the boy dragging his one good foot and trying to grab the bathroom door frame. 

Finally, Hiccup was sitting on the bed and leaning back against the headboard and Viggo left to grab the first aid kit from his bathroom. He set the plate of food in Hiccup’s lap before taking one wrist and pulling it towards him. 

Hiccup stared suspiciously at both him and the food, but after Viggo was almost done wrapping the first wrist, he had finally caved and had started to eat. Although Viggo had intended to hand feed Hiccup this morning, he decided to not push it and instead focused on wrapping the other wrist. 

Once he was done, Hiccup pulled away, taking the plate of food with him, and so Viggo went to get dressed for the day, leaving Hiccup to finish the breakfast that had been meant for both of them. 

Once dressed, Viggo appraised Hiccup, noticing how his face was still tinted red and he was pressing a hand against his forehead as if trying to ward away pain. Viggo stepped forward, ignoring Hiccup’s glare as he pressed the back of his hand against his boy’s head. Sure enough, he was too warm. 

“I think you have a fever. I’m going to give you some medicine and check your leg,” Viggo said, surprised that Hiccup simply nodded before popping the last bit of sausage into his mouth. 

_ Spoiled _ . Viggo thought before smiling to himself. He got the ibuprofen and handed it to Hiccup who, again, didn’t argue and just took the medicine. Viggo sat down on the bed and reached for Hiccup’s leg, pleasantly surprised as he wasn’t met with resistance. Instead, Hiccup set the plate of food beside him and set his calculating eyes on Viggo.

Viggo unwrapped Hiccup’s leg as gently as he could to reveal the red and puffy skin underneath. There were neat stitches pinning up the skin that would soon heal and leave a thin scar in its stead. It didn’t  _ look _ infected, but Viggo would still diligently clean it. 

Hiccup cleared his throat, and Viggo lifted his head to meet Hiccup’s eyes. “Why-” Hiccup frowned before shaking his head slightly. “You said it wouldn’t happen again. I want you to promise me,” he finally said, voice stern. The voice of a leader. Hiccup was making a demand and Viggo leaned back, appraising the young boy. 

“I can promise that,” Viggo said, offering Hiccup a grin. “ _ If _ you promise to not attempt an escape.” Viggo took a long pause, carefully watching as Hiccup stiffened, eyebrows creased as he was deep in thought. “If you break your promise to escape, then I can break  _ mine _ ,” Viggo said before reaching a hand up to Hiccup. “Deal?”

Hiccup stared at the offered hand for a long moment, before reaching his own hand out. They were so close to  _ finally _ having a middle ground, but Hiccup paused before their skin touched. 

“Are you still going to force me? Into- into sex?” Hiccup said, voice eerily devoid of emotion as he met Viggo’s eyes. 

For once, Viggo felt the need to look away, but he didn’t allow himself to. There was no need for him to feel remorse; he was only doing what was  _ necessary _ . He pondered the question for a long moment, trying to find a compromise that would please them both. This was his chance to gain some of Hiccup’s loyalty, even if it was through some stupid promise. 

“Let’s make an agreement,” Viggo reached a hand upwards to stroke his beard in thought. “Three months. I’ll give you three entire months where you can choose whether or not to participate in any sexual activity,  _ if _ you agree to be  _ obedient _ ,” Viggo finished, watching as Hiccup’s eyes narrowed. 

“What do you mean by  _ ‘obedient’ _ ? And does any ‘sexual activity’ include bathing, showering, and getting dressed? And sharing a bed?” Hiccup questioned, leaning forward in interest.

“Well, to answer your first question, you’d help me run the camp. You’d stop disrespecting me, such as  _ spitting in my face _ ,” Viggo said, annoyance leaking into his voice. “You’d stop fighting when I ask you to sit at my feet, and -” Viggo was interrupted as Hiccup laughed.

“You’re stupid if you expect me to ‘lead’ this camp when you plan to make it  _ routine _ to humiliate and belittle me in front of the entire camp?” Hiccup sneered before pulling his injured leg up and away from Viggo. 

There was another long moment of silence as Viggo tried to consider how to respond other than strangling the brat in front of him.

“ _ Alright _ . I’ll compromise with you,  _ if _ you can give me one good reason as to why,” Viggo said, raising a challenging eyebrow at Hiccup. 

Hiccup looked down at his hands, obviously deep in thought, and just when Viggo thought he wasn’t going to respond, Hiccup spoke. “Y-you said you wanted me to help run the camp. I don’t think I can do that if the men don’t respect me. After-,” Hiccup trailed off, face darkening as he no doubt remembered the events of the previous night. “I think I should be seen as an equal to them and that means sitting at the same table that they do,” Hiccup finished, eyes flashing back to meet Viggo’s. 

Viggo nodded, actually giving the boy’s words some consideration. He had expected Hiccup to use his morals to explain why it was inherently wrong to treat some people worse than others, but instead, he got a logical response, one that he would actually consider. He somewhat agreed with the lad, but wouldn’t agree to the request without gaining something in return. 

“Alright, dear. You can sit at the table with the men,  _ and _ I won’t demean you in front of any of them…  _ if _ you still shower and bathe with me in the three months of your choice whether to participate in sexual activity,” Viggo said, knowing Hiccup would immediately refuse. 

Predictably, Hiccup recoiled, as if the mere thought were disgusting to him, and perhaps it was. He didn’t outwardly refuse, however, so Viggo stood and went to his desk where he grabbed a leather-bound journal and a pen.

“Let’s make a contract. We’ll find a solid compromise and both agree to uphold our end. This way, you’ll still have some control and can be more comfortable here, and I’ll be better able to work with you,” Viggo said while sitting back on the bed and opening the journal to a random page. 

Hiccup trailed his finger over the stitches on his stump and Viggo winced at the amount of germs and filth the boy just introduced to his wound. He eventually nodded but didn’t meet Viggo’s eyes. 

“First condition,” Viggo started, beginning to write in the notebook. “You won’t experience last night again as long as you do not attempt an escape. In addition to that, you’ll have three entire months of full autonomy over your sexual activities if you agree to be obedient. I’ll add on to this that you can acquire  _ more _ time of full autonomy if I’m pleased with your behavior. So far, so good?” Viggo asked while writing down their terms, and Hiccup only nodded, still staring down at his stump. 

“Next, you can sit at the table with the men and be treated equally-”

“Can we pick this up at a different time?” Hiccup interrupted, still not meeting Viggo’s eye. “I-I’d like some time to think of what terms I want before I agree to anything,” he said and Viggo nodded, noticing that the boy was once again pressing a hand against his head as if trying to ward off a headache. 

“Of course, dear. That makes perfect sense.” Viggo said in a much softer voice before he handed the journal and pen to Hiccup who accepted it with a confused look. “Over the next two days you can write down any ideas or requests you have, and after we’ll meet and discuss. Now, can I see your leg?” 

Hiccup nodded and moved his stump back to where it had been resting on the bed, holding the journal almost reverently. 

Viggo felt rather smug. This would definitely be the first time he’s had a  _ contract _ with his pet, and it honestly felt rather cheesy, but it could be a great advantage. This was where he could persuade Hiccup into surrendering much more than he’d want to  _ and _ the boy would be motivated to uphold his side of the deal to keep the privileges he’s getting.

Viggo grinned and pulled out materials to clean the reddened wound. 

Hiccup hissed in pain as Viggo poked and prodded at the sutures while applying the antibacterial ointment. After ensuring the wound was well tended to, he wrapped it in fresh bandages, noticing how Hiccup had turned a little green. After handing him his glass of water from breakfast and encouraging him to finish it, Viggo waited until Hiccup’s skin color returned to normal before helping him to stand. 

This would be their first day together, as allies, in their new community. The next few days would determine just how their ‘partnership’ would play out and would dictate the direction their story would take.

* * *

  
  


Hiccup trudged his way down the damp steps, careful to not trip over the makeshift crutches Viggo had given him. It was hard to move around the house even with the crutches, but at least he  _ was _ able to get around on his own. 

It’d been almost three full days since he first got to this hell hole and Hiccup was  _ still _ no closer to escaping. He was usually exhausted just from tagging along with Heather and trying to help her throughout the day, something that Viggo told him he  _ had _ to do until he was fully healed. 

The one good thing about his current situation is that he was no longer completely alone. Heather was good company when it was just them. When anyone else came close, though, she shut down, doing whatever she was told and staying silent. The one exception seemed to be Viggo. Instead of ducking her head and averting her eyes, she would watch him, glaring if he came too close to them as if she were trying to protect him. 

Hiccup sort of understood why she was subservient and non-confrontational with all of the others, though. Every time he spotted one of the men from…  _ that night _ , he completely shut down. He could do nothing but stare at them as if waiting for them to pounce even if they were halfway across the compound and paying them no mind. It helped to be near Heather… she seemed to understand and knew just what to say to calm him down.

Not only that, but she was rather patient with him, explaining things slowly and not getting frustrated when he would zone out for long periods of time, silently doing whatever task they were assigned. She also, unlike her dad, didn’t get mad when he would get sidetracked and end up doing something completely unrelated to their task.

Overall, it was really good to have her as a friend. He felt much better knowing that he wasn’t the only one suffering, despite how selfish that was. 

He had told Heather about the contract Viggo had offered him, and she even helped him brainstorm ideas for what he should ask for. It was  _ really _ good to have her insight because she seemed to know a lot more about all that these men were capable of. For example, he would have  _ never  _ thought to add that after the three months of no sexual contact, that Viggo should agree to not have sex with him in public. 

It seemed odd to Hiccup to make that amendment, but Heather swore it would help him not be humiliated at a later date as a punishment. They had both managed to come up with a rough draft of the contract he would present to Viggo tonight, at the end of the two days he was given. 

He was admittedly very nervous about it. Heather had assured him that they had done a good job in trying to protect him through the contract, but had also made it clear to him that Viggo could still break it and that there wasn’t much they could do about it. 

The knowledge didn’t make him feel any better, but he was grateful that Heather was always bluntly honest with him and never treated him as if he were weak or needed to be protected from the bitter truth of their situation. 

Currently, Heather was trying to show him how to sew patches and how to fix different rips and tears in clothing. She had also wasted some of their thread to show Hiccup how to do sutures, telling him just how important the information could be to them in the future. 

Although he felt queasy about sewing up  _ human flesh _ , the way Heather spoke so seriously about it, Hiccup burned the lesson into his mind. 

He was attempting to tie a suture into a shirt, dismayed that his were much messier than hers. She was still extremely patient with him, correcting him and reteaching him how to properly tie them off. 

After a good half hour of him perfecting his new skill, she seemed satisfied and they burned the wasted thread before going back to mending the shirts and pants and socks of the men. 

Hiccup wasn’t great at it, but Heather seemed pleased just to have someone to work with. 

She usually hummed under her breath as she worked, and Hiccup loved to listen and try to figure out which song she was recreating. 

“So, is this good?” He said while passing over a finished shirt to her. She dutifully inspected his work, and Hiccup admittedly felt slightly nervous under her scrutinization. He was relieved, however, when a soft smile passed over her face.

“That’s perfect, Hiccup. You learn fast,” she said before folding the shirt and adding it to the pile. 

Hiccup grabbed the next shirt and continued to work. “So, um. If you don’t mind me asking… How long have you been here?” He didn’t look up at her as he asked, but she stopped humming and the room took on a dark tenseness. 

She didn’t answer for a long moment, but finally, her soft voice shattered the silence. “I don’t honestly know, Hiccup. At least a year.”

He glanced up at her as she continued working, expression sad. 

He nodded before continuing. “D-did you have a family?”

There was another long pause, and Hiccup was about to apologize for his invasive question, but when he looked at her there was a sad smile on her face and tears pooling in her eyes. 

“Not really. My mother and father were dead before all of this, but I did have a brother. I got separated from him because of a herd and stumbled upon this community. I came asking for help, but-” her voice cracked and Hiccup reached out to hold her hand. “My brother, he’s a survivor. I know he’s alive out there; I just hope that he’s doing well.” She squeezed his hand before going back to work. 

“What about you, Hiccup? Did you have a family?”

Now was his turn to pause and mull over his reply. “Not anymore. My dad got turned into one of the dead on the very first day. He’s the strongest man I ever knew. Still, even after him, I had a family. Five friends that I’ve known for as long as I can remember. Viggo killed most of them right under my nose and I hardly ever suspected it,” he said, surprised that instead of anger, he just felt grief. 

“H-how do you know he killed them?” She asked while looking at the side of his face. He couldn’t meet her eyes, not knowing how he’d react to seeing the pity written across her face.

“He basically admitted to it. To all of it. I know for a fact that he killed Astrid.” There was an awkward pause, and so Hiccup explained who she was, or  _ had _ been. “She was the love of my life… and he took her from me before I ever even got to ask her out. As for the rest, they all died almost immediately after I met Viggo, so I don’t really know what else to think,” Hiccup said, wanting to continue, but not trusting himself. There was so much bottled up that he hadn’t known was there and he didn’t want to unintentionally lash out at Heather. 

They continued working in silence, and once finished, Hiccup grabbed his crutches and followed Heather into the kitchen to make supper. He mainly sat in a chair and did most of the preparation while she walked around and did the cooking. 

He had complained to her once about not doing anything, and so now he was also tasked with doing the dishes as long as he  _ promised _ not to get his bandages wet. 

So now he sat in a chair beside the sink cleaning the meat while she popped the bread she had made earlier into the oven. She stacked some cans beside him along with the can opener and once he was done with the meat, he opened all the different veggies and sliced potatoes in the cans. She did all of the actual  _ cooking _ , but he was content with listening to her explain everything she was doing so that he would know how to do it once he was back on his feet. 

After everything was set up, he washed the dishes while she dried and put them away. After dinner, they would have a lot  _ more _ dishes to wash, but for now, they were done while everything was cooking. They went back to the table and Heather set it while Hiccup pulled out the leather-bound journal Viggo had given him. 

He wasn’t sure whether Viggo wanted it back, but the old man would have to fight him for it. 

Hiccup had filled several pages with different designs for the prosthetic leg he planned on making and wouldn’t want to lose all of the notes and details he had gathered. Heather was the one that thought of adding it to their contract that Hiccup would be allowed to actually  _ make _ and use the leg  _ and _ Viggo would help in getting all of the materials. 

She was even involved in the making of his prosthetic leg, even if her involvement was just paying attention as he rambled and asking questions.

Even now, as she was setting the table, she would glance over his shoulder every few minutes as he worked on the design. He tried his best to explain everything to her as she always does for him, but he wasn’t nearly as good of a teacher as she was. He doubted he was being very helpful, but she still seemed to appreciate the effort. 

She ended up asking him more about how to change oil or a tire than his prosthetic or the other things he rambled about. She was much more interested in the practical things that he could teach her. He had asked her once why she wanted to know such things, and she simply said that she would need to know it in the future. He hadn’t been brave enough to question whether that meant that she intended to escape. 

Once he was satisfied with his design of the prosthetic, he flipped through the pages of the journal until he got to his and Heather’s ideas for the contract he and Viggo would be making tonight. Hiccup’s stomach felt cold with the mere idea of discussing things with Viggo, but he couldn’t afford to give the man any ground. 

He had one goal with this contract: gaining more freedom and protecting himself. He glanced over to the chair next to him where Viggo usually sat at the head of the table. Tonight would dictate just how much power Hiccup would maintain over himself for the rest of the time he was stuck here. It would make his time here less horrible as he waited for and plotted his and Heather’s escape.

This contract would prevent more horrors from happening to him as he healed and made his prosthetic. Once he was mobile, he could begin stealing and stashing away supplies until he had an opportunity to get him and Heather away, preferably by vehicle. But until then, he would bide his time and play nice. This would be made  _ much _ easier if he didn’t have to deal with Viggo’s unwanted advances or new injuries. 

Speaking of the devil, Viggo and his moronic brother Ryker entered the home, chatting amongst themselves. Viggo walked up to Hiccup and planted a quick kiss on the top of his head before Hiccup had time to react or push him away. The man sat down beside him and Hiccup rolled his eyes and tried not to scowl as he refocused on the words in front of him. He needed to dominate this negotiation or conversation or  _ whatever _ it was while they formulated this agreement. 

Viggo reached forward and rested his hand on top of the hand Hiccup was grasping the pencil with, and Hiccup tried his best to ignore it.

“How was your day, dear?” The man said while not so discreetly sliding the journal away from Hiccup and closer to himself so he could skim over the amendments he and Heather had written down. 

“S’okay,” Hiccup said while pulling his hand away from the man and picking his fingernails, decidedly looking everywhere but at the man. He was losing his advantage of surprise about the new amendments he wanted to add, but there wasn’t much he could do. Viggo slid the journal even closer and began to flip the pages. Hiccup finally looked over in fear as Viggo got to the different pages containing sketches and doodles he had made in his free time. 

He doesn’t know  _ why _ he’s worried about Viggo being mad, but it doesn’t make the anxiety clawing its way up his stomach any less real as the man continued turning pages.

“Did you learn anything today?” The man said offhandedly while tracing his finger over the details of the same dragon thing Hiccup had drawn before he knew who Viggo was… before  _ Drago _ .

For some reason, he had wanted to draw the dragon again. The only difference? This time, the winged dragon was pitch-black with large, protective scales and angry green eyes. He was intimidating…  _ horrifying _ to his enemies. No one would dare cross this dragon and live to tell the tale.

The dragon also now had an injured tailfin so he couldn’t fly. He was both trapped on the page and on the ground, unable to reach the freeing sky. Hiccup feels somewhat guilty for giving the dragon a disability, but it somehow made him feel more real. This dragon was just like Hiccup; he was stranded on the ground, unable to escape his enemies and he was  _ pissed _ about it. The dragon was snarling with deadly, pointed teeth, eyes capturing the person looking at him, daring them to approach. 

It was both the darkest and most realistic thing Hiccup’s ever drawn. Sure, dragons weren’t real, but this one felt real to  _ him _ . 

Viggo was looking at the dragon reverently, tracing the thing’s face, but being careful not to smudge the picture. 

Hiccup took a while to answer the man’s question, praying Viggo wouldn’t confiscate the journal or the picture. “I, uh, learned how to sew?” He finally offered as Viggo finished looking at the dragon and turned to the next page. 

Hiccup stiffened as the man saw the designs for his prosthetic. Instead of being angry, Viggo studied the designs carefully, turning to look at other designs and reading each and every note Hiccup had written beside the different parts detailing what materials he’d need and how he planned to make it. 

Hiccup awkwardly shifted in his seat, glancing up to see Heather giving him an encouraging smile, but it was obvious she was nervous for him too. 

Finally, Viggo spoke: “This… this is brilliant, Hiccup. How-?” The man seemed to be stunned into silence as he looked at yet another design. Finally, he slid the journal back to Hiccup who quickly closed it and held it close to his chest. This was  _ hours _ worth of work and designs and he was rather terrified of it being taken away from him, despite Viggo seeming to be pleased with the work that he had done. In a way, this journal was a taste of freedom, where he could draw or imagine anything and create it, even if only on paper. 

“That’s very impressive, Hiccup. You should write a detailed list of everything you’ll need so I can start gathering it,” he finally said as Heather set a drink down in front of both of them. 

Hiccup was dumbfounded. “You-... Really?” He finally asked, staring at the man as if he’d grown a third head. 

Viggo took a long drink from his glass and met Hiccup’s eyes, a serious expression on his face. “Of course,” he said as if it were stupid for Hiccup to think for a second that Viggo  _ wouldn’t _ help him. 

And maybe it was? Viggo had said that he wanted someone to lead beside him. Surely that meant someone strong that didn’t have to hobble everywhere they went.  _ Or _ , the man had read where Hiccup had wanted him to do that anyway as part of the contract and offered it just to make himself out to be a ‘good guy’. Hiccup simply nodded to the man, weighing both possibilities as he turned to look down at the journal in his hands. 

Viggo didn’t say anything more to him as Ryker headed outside and rang the bell for supper. It wasn’t long before several loud men were filing into the house, laughing amongst themselves.

Heather served the plates as they all sat down, giving Viggo a large plate piled with food and Hiccup an empty one. 

This was one thing that had changed even before they fully agreed on the contract. Hiccup no longer had to sit at Viggo’s feet but was still technically being  _ fed _ by Viggo. Still, it was a massive upgrade.

Viggo separated different portions of his food before scraping some food onto Hiccup's plate. When he was done, he gave the plate back to Hiccup who began picking at it with his fork. Sadly, Heather was still under the table and he was sitting at a table where the only man who  _ hadn’t  _ raped him was fucking  _ Ryker _ . Whose only reservation was that he was too disgusted by Hiccup to rape him. How comforting. 

* * *

  
  


Dinner was, thankfully, uneventful. Currently, they were sitting on porch chairs outside while Ryker smoked a cigarette. He and Viggo were talking as Hiccup and Heather were thumb wrestling. Viggo was speaking about an excursion outside of the community to someplace that they had apparently been discussing. Ryker was against it, not wanting to risk leading his men outside of the wall while Viggo argued he was risking them by leaving their home so exposed. 

Hiccup was listening, noting how upset Ryker was about it and how eerily calm Viggo was, as if he already knew he’d won. Heather was fully taking advantage of his being distracted and was terrorizing his poor thumb. 

“Listen, brother, I’ve been out in the world for the past several years. There is much potential just  _ sitting _ in abandoned homes, stores, and factories, waiting to be utilized. Now, it’s always a risk to leave the community, but there is nothing to really fear-”

“I am  _ not _ afraid of those damned corpses!” Ryker yelled, interrupting Viggo. His explosion of anger coupled with Viggo’s calm just seemed to prove that Ryker was being immature and almost discredited his entire argument. 

Hiccup knew one thing, it must  _ suck _ to have Viggo Grimborn as a sibling. Even now, when the only people to witness their argument were him and Heather, Viggo still manipulated the conversation to make his brother look foolish. 

He wasn’t even sure what the man was trying to prove or  _ who _ he was trying to prove it to. 

After his outburst, Ryker snuffed out his cigarette before storming inside. Heather seemed rather pissed at Viggo for upsetting him, and Hiccup knew it was because  _ she _ would be taking the brunt of the man’s anger.

Viggo sighed dramatically as he stood and leaned against the porch railing, staring at the stars. While Hiccup was distracted watching Viggo, Heather pinned his thumb,  _ yet again _ , and Hiccup cursed and tried to free it, but his poor thumb was doomed. They both laughed slightly as Heather counted to three, beating Hiccup once more. 

If Heather was as good in a real fight as she was in thumb wrestling, she could take on all the hordes of zombies with no worries. Hiccup massaged his sore thumb that had been pinned  _ at least _ a dozen times since they came unto the porch not ten minutes ago. 

“Hiccup, dear?” Viggo called, and Hiccup rolled his eyes and made a face at Heather, who tried to stifle her laughter, but he still got up and obediently hobbled his way over to Viggo’s side. 

He didn’t say anything as he set his crutches aside and leaned against the railing beside the older man, and Viggo didn’t seem to mind. Surprisingly, Viggo didn’t touch him, instead, pointing upwards to the stars. 

“Do you know that constellation?” 

He was taken off guard by the innocent question, but after a few seconds, he looks to where Viggo is pointing. He can’t make out the cluster of stars, or  _ any _ cluster of stars for that matter. His mother was interested in astronomy, but after she passed, it was hard for his dad to talk about so Hiccup was never really taught much other than the basics. And by basics, he means he can find the Big and Little Dipper and not much else. 

He shakes his head no and Viggo continues. “Do you see the two brightest stars? Right there?” Viggo asked while gesturing at the intended stars. He waited silently as Hiccup searched until he too finally found them. Once Hiccup nodded, Viggo spoke again. “Those two stars are called Antares and Shaula. They help make up the Scorpius constellation.” 

Hiccup nodded again, not really sure why the man was telling him any of this. 

“Do you know the story of Scorpius?” Viggo asked and Hiccup tried not to roll his eyes. 

“No, but I’m guessing it's about a scorpion.” He murmured and Viggo simply nodded, not at all deterred by Hiccup’s lack of interest.

“Yes. This scorpion supposedly killed the legendary greek hunter, Orion. The hunter boasted that he could kill  _ any _ beast in all of the lands and so to disprove him and shame his hubris, the scorpion was sent to kill him, and it did.” Viggo said, still looking at the stars above him. 

Hiccup turned to glance at Heather who just shrugged as if she was also confused as to why Viggo was explaining any of this to him. 

Before Hiccup could ask Viggo whether he hit his head today, the man continued. “Orion is the perfect example as to why you should never be too confident or sure of yourself. The world will always be desperate to prove you wrong. Look at humanity and how we boasted of being untouchable and too intelligent to ever lose our world before it was all stripped away from us by the  _ dead _ of all things.” 

There was a long pause before Viggo continued. “This community will be yet another example of human arrogance unless we take this threat seriously and prepare for the worst. Ryker thinks he's invincible simply because we are well stocked in  _ weapons _ and  _ ammunition _ , but I fear this ignorance and hubris will be our downfall.” Viggo seemed to wait to draw out the moment before he placed his hand on Hiccup’s. Hiccup glared at him, but the man seemingly didn’t notice, instead, continuing his speech.

“ _ Unless, _ however, you and I work on gathering the materials to create a reinforced wall. Of course, I’ll expect you to figure out the best design for the wall and which materials will be the strongest and easiest to find,” Viggo ended, turning to look at Hiccup. “I trust that you’re the best man for the job,” the man finished. 

Hiccup kept his head down. He didn’t  _ want _ to make this community any stronger. He wanted to bide his time and only have to worry about climbing a regular fence and then leaving this camp exposed and vulnerable. Why should he help them survive when he had no intention of staying? And after everything that they’ve put him through? 

“Are you a politician or something?” Hiccup finally asked, staring at the porch railing as if it had personally offended him. 

Viggo chuckled before clapping Hiccup on his shoulder. “Ah, I love to see your smart mouth hasn’t changed. C’mon, we still have our  _ contract _ to discuss before the night’s end,” the man said before pulling Hiccup along into the house. 

He was getting a little better at navigating with these bulky crutches, but it was still tedious. He nodded to Heather as he went inside, smiling nervously. They’d talked an awful lot about what he should ask for and how he needs to negotiate; he’d better not fuck it up. She offered him two thumbs up and what was most likely supposed to be an encouraging smile. In all honesty, she looked about as nervous as he felt.

Hiccup took a deep breath, trying to keep up with Viggo as he led them to their shared room. Once there, Hiccup leaned his crutches against the wall and hopped so he could sit on the bed. Viggo grabbed Hiccup’s journal and tossed it beside him on the bed before grabbing the chair to his desk and dragging it so it was opposite Hiccup before sitting. 

Hiccup opened the journal and began skimming the notes he and Heather had made, trying to ignore the fluttering of nerves in his stomach. He was always uncomfortable around Viggo, especially when alone, but tonight was even worse. Not only did he now  _ truly _ understand just what horrors the man was capable of, but he would be bargaining for what little freedom he could enjoy until he finally managed to escape. That is … if he was even  _ successful _ at escape. But that thought was far too depressing to dwell on. Most all of this contract would hinge on whether he was some obedient little pet for the next three months to keep what little rights he would be fighting for tonight. 

As soon as he showed Viggo that he  _ wasn’t _ completely broken and was trying to escape, who knows what the man would do to him?

They sat in awkward silence, Hiccup having to read the same line multiple times before he could focus enough to understand what was written. His hands were shaking, which wasn’t helping his ‘focusing on the words’ dilemma. He needed to be a convincing liar tonight and pretend that he intended to actually honor this contract indefinitely. 

Viggo finally split the deafening silence by loudly clearing his throat. “So,  _ dear _ , where did we leave off last time?”

Hiccup carefully turned to the page boasting Viggo’s neat script. He turned the pages slowly, trying to stall just long enough to calm his nerves before looking down at where the older man had written down the first part of their contract. He took another breath before reading it aloud: “Um, three months of full autonomy, with conditional added time… and you’ll never let anyone touch me again unless I try to escape. And, uh, I can sit at the table…” Hiccup said, wincing at how horrible he was starting off. He was paraphrasing what was already agreed upon and written in front of him and  _ still _ managed to be unconvincing.

“Well,  _ loosely _ , yes. For the sake of the contract, let’s be a tad more specific.” Viggo said as he outstretched his hand. Hiccup handed the journal back to him along with the pencil before pulling his good leg up to wrap his arms around as if to shield himself from this conversation. 

Viggo began to write. “Just to go over what we’ve already discussed… Starting as soon as we sign this agreement, you will have three months of autonomy. Meaning you will get to choose whether or not to participate in any sexual activities. Now, this is an option  _ only _ if you are obedient. If I feel you are being unruly or disrespectful, I can take away the three months after a discussion with you. There will also be added time if I am pleased with your behavior. Correct?” Viggo said and Hiccup didn’t really know what to say so he just nodded. “Next, you will never be punished by sex with multiple partners again, as long as you do not attempt an escape -”

“No! We agreed that it’ll  _ never _ happen again, whether it's a punishment or  _ not _ .  _ Never again _ . If you want to ‘punish’ me for something then  _ you _ punish me. Don’t pass it off on someone else,” Hiccup spat, surprised when Viggo just smirked and nodded his head before continuing to write things down. 

“Of course, dear. Next, you can sit at the table with the men and be treated equally to aid in your leading this community by my side…” Viggo said in a bored tone. “Conditions to go with this are that you will still be hand-fed in the mornings and fed off of my plate at dinner, such as what happened tonight. Agreed?” Hiccup nodded before frowning. He kind of wanted to add on that he should choose what he can or can’t eat and how much, but wasn’t sure how to word it or whether or would jeopardize this ‘contract’ if he became too picky. Heather had warned that the agreement probably wouldn’t stand for long anyways. 

“Speaking of leading, you will help me lead the camp once you heal. This will include helping to repair and reconstruct the wall protecting this camp, participating in conversations contributing to the wellbeing of the camp, and in fulfilling any other duties that I assign you pertaining to the betterment of the community,” Viggo said as he jotted down more notes in the journal. Once he was done, Hiccup reached for the journal and Viggo allowed him to take it back. 

“You  _ still _ sound like a politician,” Hiccup remarked as he skimmed over what Viggo had written, satisfied that he didn’t leave anything out purposefully or write things down to where they could be misinterpreted or used against him. He glanced up and noticed that Viggo was staring intently at him. Disturbed, Hiccup turned back to the additions he and Heather had written. 

“Um, a condition of me helping to lead the camp is that you’ll let me build a prosthetic leg  _ and _ help me procure the materials to make it,” he said, happy to see Viggo simply nod and motion for him to write it down. Hiccup’s handwriting wasn’t nearly as neat as Viggo’s, and looked awkward and kiddish next to the older man’s neat cursive. 

“Um, no public sex, even after the three months. It’s humiliating and will undermine my ability to lead this camp,” Hiccup said, reading the wording he and Heather had specifically written and underlined so that he could say it word for word. 

“Hmm,” Viggo said while rubbing at his goatee. “And what would you give in return?” 

At this, Hiccup just stared dumbly for a moment. “Uh, what do you mean?” 

“I mean, for every one of our agreements, there’s a give and a take. You’ll have autonomy in return for obedience, I’ll help get materials for your leg so you’ll lead the camp... So? What will you give?” Viggo said, leaning forward and placing his hand on the knee of his injured leg. 

Hiccup glared at the offending hand but didn’t move it. Instead, he tried to think of something he would be willing to ‘give’ Viggo. So far, every thought he had was either violent or far too disturbing for him to linger on.

When he didn’t answer, Viggo spoke. “A few days ago, we had agreed on still sharing a bed and showering together for some other agreement... Why don’t we institute that here in return for your amendment for no public sex?” 

Hiccup shifted, staring at the page to avoid looking at Viggo. “But, but no touching,” Hiccup said quietly. 

Viggo leaned away and removed his hand, giving Hiccup the room to breathe. “That’s… impractical. There’s no way  _ either _ of us will be able to uphold that rule. Instead, how about no non-consensual  _ sexual _ touching?” Viggo suggested and Hiccup couldn’t help but roll his eyes but he still reluctantly agreed. 

He had discussed with Heather whether it would be worth it to argue for him sleeping somewhere else, but she subtly pointed out that the men here were rather brave and  _ stupid _ . If he wasn’t right next to Viggo, they might not be deterred from hurting him or even killing him. She had teared up as she said this, as if it had happened in the past. 

This was the first time he had considered the fact that  _ others _ like him and Heather had been here, and not all of them had survived. He didn’t ask Heather, though. Just accepted that it would be strategic to stay with the older man at night, even  _ if _ it made him want to vomit. 

He detailed their new agreement on the paper, trying to word it as carefully as possible to avoid any loopholes. Once he finished writing that, he went back to his and Heather’s notes, seeing if there was anything that he had missed. 

“Oh! Once my prosthetic is fixed I want to be able to leave camp with you on supply runs and scouting and stuff. I don’t wanna be trapped here,” he said. It was Heather who thought to add that in, leading Hiccup to question just how long it’s been since she’s been outside of this camp. 

“Absolutely _ not! _ ” Viggo said, straightening his spine and squaring his shoulders as if preparing for a fight.

“Why  _ not? _ ” Hiccup asked, hating how his voice came across as a whine. He was just now realizing that there was a possibility that he wouldn’t leave this camp  _ ever _ unless he managed to escape. Heather was right to try and include this in their contract.

“Hiccup, how dumb do you think I am? You’ve already tried to  _ kill _ me while we were out in the world and don’t think I’m too gullible than to believe you wouldn’t  _ run- _ ”

Hiccup interrupted the man. “And how did  _ that _ turn out for me, huh?!” He half-yelled. “Look, once again, how am I supposed to lead this camp if you keep me chained to the house, hm? And you want me to pick out supplies and materials for the wall without leaving the camp? What are you going to do? Bring me every single material in existence until you guess the right one? It’s not like I can google you a picture for you,” Hiccup said, voice slowly lowering in volume. 

“Besides, we’d be in a group of your men; it’s not like I’d be able to fight or escape. And even if I  _ could _ ,” Hiccup paused dramatically, a move he learned from Viggo, while trying to look pitiful. “It’s not like I’d get far,” he muttered while staring sadly at his missing leg. 

Heather had told him that looking sad and pitiful and weak would always convince her  _ brother _ to do things, and she suggested that it might work on Viggo too. Hiccup wasn’t usually one to play the weak card, but he’d pull every string he could to get everything out of this contract that he possibly could. 

Viggo appraised him for a long moment before finally agreeing with a firm nod of his head. “Y’know, Hiccup,” the older man started. “You are proving to be much more impressive than I ever considered,” he said with a grin. “But now it’s  _ my _ turn to add some rules.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo? Tell me what you think!


	10. The Bloody Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew!   
> Yet another chapter down. This chapter is a whopping 9k!!   
> This chapter doesn't have any real warnings. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It had been several months since they had initially made their contract, and so far, Hiccup was pretty satisfied with their new arrangement. At first, he figured that not much would change between them and that the contract was more of a false front so that he would eventually let his guard down and be vulnerable when the older man would strike. But, true to his word, Viggo has followed the contract dutifully, and because of that, the past several months have been almost… comfortable.

The older man hasn’t done anything against Hiccup’s will and has even been lenient when it comes to the stuff Hiccup  _ had _ agreed to. For example, the whole ‘showering’ thing had Hiccup feeling sick to his stomach with nerves the first day after their contract, thinking that he would have to get naked in front of the older man and let the man  _ touch _ him simply because a piece of paper he had signed told him to. 

However, to Hiccup’s astonishment, Viggo had simply helped him get into the shower while he was fully clothed and then left him alone. Viggo had even moved a fold-out chair into the shower so that Hiccup  _ could _ shower on his own. He was able to undress while seated in the chair and then take as long as he needed. There was no risk of losing balance and falling or getting too tired balancing on one leg, so Hiccup was actually  _ comfortable _ with his daily showers. 

Once he was done showering and cut the water off, he’d wrap himself in a towel, and Viggo would eventually come and help maneuver him out of the tub and back into their shared room. The strangest part was that the man’s focus never seemed to be on Hiccup at all. Instead, he seemed distracted and would always leave as soon as he was done helping Hiccup and go back to looking at the maps and documents on his desk or discussing things with his men in the living room. 

And yes, they’re  _ Viggo’s _ men now. He’s made that  _ abundantly _ clear. Ryker doesn’t complain or defy Viggo, even if he still sometimes sulks and glares at his younger brother. Hiccup doesn’t fully know  _ how _ Viggo managed to gain all of the men’s respect and trust, but he definitely has. 

Which is why it is no surprise that Viggo is extremely busy and doesn’t waste any of his time with Hiccup. These past several months have been spent turning the once weak and lazy camp of men into a growing enterprise that was constantly expanding. The men have searched and mapped out miles of land past what they had previously visited, looting any stores or homes that they came across. From what Hiccup could tell from the maps, they’ve ventured further west mainly, away from Drago’s community that lies several miles to the northeast of their camp. 

They’ve gained materials and nonperishable foods and stocked up on gasoline and ammunition through their multitude of expeditions. They’ve brought back numerous vehicles and even more ATVs and even a tractor that allowed their garden to expand exponentially overnight. Planting the seeds and tending to their crops are what he and Heather worked on daily, resulting in a garden that provided most of the men in camp with fresh food instead of just the few people important enough to eat in the main house. 

While he and Heather tended to the ever-growing garden, the men were actually beginning the construction of the wall with the few materials they’ve acquired. They’ve stripped several tin roofs off of houses, and with the use of all of their vehicles and their one tractor, they’ve managed to start building a much more sturdy structure to protect them. Hiccup was the one that suggested they start building the wall a few feet outside of the chain-link fence that they already have. This way, if the wall ever fell, there would still be an obstacle to prevent the danger from entering the camp, and the chain-link fence would allow the community to  _ see _ the threat.

Besides, as of right now, guards patrol the fence and kill the dead they do see through the fence with no fear of being bitten. In the event of some of the dead leaking through the wall, they’d still be able to bait them and spread them out to disperse the pressure on the chain-link fence while killing them through the fence. If the chain-link fence fell as well, then they would retreat behind the second inner wall, which was not nearly as sturdy. 

In that event, they would probably utilize their vehicles and make noise along the fence to again bait the dead to spread further out, so they don’t simply overwhelm the inner wooden fence. Once spread out, the men can then continue dispatching them, their bodies acting as obstacles to the rest. 

It wasn’t perfect planning, but Viggo agreed it would be safer to have the wall extend  _ past _ the chain link fence to allow them the extra safety precaution and give them more time to mount a response. 

So, with Viggo’s direction, the trees have been cleared for at least a dozen feet outside of the chain-link fence, supplying the camp with both wood and a clear line of sight for when they were building the wall so they wouldn’t be as vulnerable. As long as the men were paying attention, they should have time to either fight back or flee. Viggo decided to leave the trees that line the  _ inside _ of where the new wall will be built for added support. 

Everything seemed to be improving steadily, but their  _ real _ success was the discovery of another community somewhere south of them. Viggo hasn’t volunteered much information to Hiccup about the new camp, and Hiccup’s never overheard him talking with the men about it, so he assumes it’s something Viggo doesn’t want him to know about. 

Which is fine, but it means he isn’t certain of  _ where _ the other community is, just knows that it’s pretty far south of them according to the maps and what snippets of information he  _ has _ been able to overhear before Viggo ushered him out of the room. 

Overall, Hiccup is too preoccupied with building his prosthetic and helping Heather to  _ really _ worry over the new camp, so he doesn’t mind that Viggo isn’t talking to him about it. Besides, it’s not like he’d be able to make it there on his own if he did decide to leave this camp, nor is there some pressing reason for him to  _ try _ to leave this camp, so it’s worthless information.

It’s true, with the contract and Viggo and all of the men being busy and exhausting themselves with furthering the community, it has been pretty decent living here. The men are being worked at all hours of the day and don’t have the time to drop by and torment Heather and him. And once the work is done, they’re too exhausted to do anything other than eat and then trek off to their houses to sleep. Viggo himself was also extremely busy delegating tasks, reinforcing his role as the leader to the men, and then preparing for and leading the frequent expeditions. The only time he even  _ speaks _ to Hiccup is right in the morning when they eat breakfast, and then after dinner when they retire to their room to sleep. 

Even then, the man usually just asks about what work he and Heather managed to get done. He would  _ sometimes _ discuss reinforcing the wall and ask for Hiccup’s input, but even those conversations had stopped once they discovered the other community. Now, Viggo would simply sit in silence for the few minutes they were around each other, seemingly deep in thought. Rarely, the man would try to touch his hair or run his hands along his back at night, but even those were innocent, almost mindless touches, with no malintent behind them. 

Hiccup admits that since he no longer has to fear Viggo or the men, he’s grown rather complacent in camp. 

His normal day was so…  _ normal _ that it was hard not to. He’d wake up warm and comfortable, usually with Viggo absent-mindedly petting him as he read over some papers that Hiccup assumed listed their supplies and rations or planned their future trips outside of camp. The first few weeks resulted in Hiccup jerking away, but since he doesn’t really mind the innocent touches, he’s found himself more often than not just falling back into a light sleep until Viggo left to go fix breakfast. Besides, these scarce touches in the mornings and at night were the only time  _ anyone _ touched him. Heather seemed panicky every time Hiccup would accidentally brush past her, so he refrained from ever touching her, and nobody else even  _ spoke _ to him. 

His mornings with Viggo were the only real time he had any true contact with another person. However, that didn’t prevent Hiccup from feeling guilty every time he allowed himself to be comforted by the small touches.

After their brief moment of peace in the morning, Viggo would feed him breakfast, which was initially extremely awkward and uncomfortable, but over the last several weeks, Hiccup had grown accustomed to it. It wasn’t the worst thing he’s endured because of the man, and some mornings, it was even kind of nice to eat breakfast in bed while being petted and watching the sunrise through the window. 

After this, they’d both go their separate ways for the day, Viggo sometimes going on expeditions outside of the community, while Hiccup usually just helped do mundane housework and tend to the garden with Heather. The highlight of his day, however, was during his spare time when he would work on his prosthetic. 

It was already technically completed, so the only thing Hiccup really could do was adjust it slightly in different ways to appease his anticipation while he waited for his leg to heal enough for it to be able to take his full weight. It wouldn’t be until then that he would really be able to see what needed to be adjusted on his prosthetic, but he couldn’t help but mess with it at least once every day.

Until his leg healed enough to bear his weight, he would be stuck inside of the camp and doing boring tasks such as slicing up squash for Heather while she cooked the  _ actual _ meal. But it was okay because soon, Hiccup would be able to wear his prosthetic, and then he would go with Viggo on the excursions. He would see something other than this dull camp.

God, maybe then Viggo would finally start involving him in important discussions, and Hiccup would have a say in the future of the camp. That’s what Viggo initially wanted  _ anyways _ , isn’t it? Then he could convince the man to find some fucking  _ animals _ . Hiccup would kill for a few chickens and cows. Then, they could have something other than deer, rabbit, and squirrel meat. 

Hiccup glanced sadly at the small scraps of meat that used to be a squirrel that Heather was now adding to her stew. He couldn’t help but shudder. Heather might be a great cook, but he wasn’t sure whether he would ever become accustomed to eating critters like that. 

He still remembers the men all laughing at the face he made when Ryker brought home a fucking o _ possum _ . 

Once again, he sits at the table beside Viggo, forcing himself to scarf down the squirrel stew he and Heather had made while desperately trying to distract himself from what was in it. It’s not that it tasted  _ bad _ , per se, but it was hard to stomach the  _ idea _ that he was eating random rodents that the men scavenged. 

In his plight to distract himself from what he was eating, he noticed the unusually good mood Viggo and the men seemed to be in after their trip outside of the community. They must not have lost any men. 

Hiccup had watched earlier that day through the living room window as their three trucks returned, making their way down the long drive and kicking up dust in their wake. Once they had parked and the dust had settled, Hiccup saw just how packed down with different materials and canned foods the trucks had been. It had been a good haul.

Still, no matter how much canned food the men brought, it wouldn't last. Eventually, they would run out of stuff to scavenge, and if they didn’t have a replenishable food source by then, they would starve. 

Hiccup has nagged Viggo about this fact many different times, trying to sway the man to plan on how they were supposed to obtain farm animals. The garden was okay, but one bad storm or bad season would result in them trying to live solely off of what they could catch. That just wasn’t reliable enough.

Hiccup frowned at the memory of Viggo, writing him off  _ yet again _ when he argued this point. The older man must have noticed the frown because he nudged Hiccup, bringing him back to the present.

“So, Viggo. Have you decided when we’re going to visit the new camp?” One of the newer men asked. Out of the four men other than Ryker and Viggo that usually ate dinner in the house, Hank, the ugly red-haired bastard, was the only one still alive. Out of the numerous excursions, they’ve lost numerous men. Sadly, Hank was the asshole that just  _ had _ to survive. The man still glared daggers at Hiccup occasionally from across the table, but Hiccup never met the man’s eye. He couldn’t look at him without feeling the need to either be sick or run and hide, and he hated himself for it.

Hiccup couldn’t  _ wait _ for the day that Hank wouldn’t return. Then, the only man in the community that has hurt Hiccup would be Viggo, who has finally begun to keep his hands to himself. 

“Well, I’ve decided to bring Hiccup. So, we won’t approach the community until after Hiccup can wear his prosthetic,” Viggo said before taking another bite of his stew. Hiccup looked at him with wide eyes, trying to decipher  _ why _ the man would want to bring him to the same community that he has been trying to  _ hide _ from him?

The other men must have been confused as well because silence overtook the room with all eyes trained intently on Viggo. The man himself seemed undeterred and took another slow bite of his stew before replying. “Until then, it is imperative for us to continue to reinforce the safety of the camp. A large number of us will go to the new community, leaving the camp vulnerable. We must at least have the northern portion of the new wall completed since that is where most of the dead come from,” the man said, taking the time to look at each person seated at the table. There was another pause. “Understood?” Viggo finally said when no one took the initiative to reply. 

There were several grunts of affirmation, and Hiccup returned his own eyes back to the stew, wondering why he suddenly felt so excited. It wasn’t as if he was trustful of Viggp’s reason for wanting to bring him outside of the camp, but he couldn’t think of any horrible, secret reason as to why the man would want to bring him. 

Maybe the man really just wanted Hiccup’s input?

The next week was spent preparing for their journey to the new camp. Three days before they were to leave, Hiccup was pleased to find that the prosthetic only caused minor discomfort, but didn’t seem to injure him as he walked on his bad leg. Of course, learning to walk with a prosthetic wasn’t easy, but Heather practiced with him a lot and was always there to catch him if he stumbled throughout the day. Despite her not wanting to be touched, she seemed to put her own discomfort aside in order to help Hiccup learn how to walk, something he wouldn’t soon forget. 

It was exhausting work, but he was damned determined to master this by Friday, the day the men would finish their preparations. Viggo had said they would wait until Hiccup was ready, but since they would  _ technically _ be ready to go by as early as Friday, that was when Hiccup determined he would be ready.

Eventually, Hiccup could not only walk with decent balance but had no problems walking up stairs or carrying things while he walked. He couldn’t keep a small smile off of his face at his newfound independence. Sure, he had to sit down pretty often to give himself a break, but that didn’t negate from the fact that he could  _ walk again _ .

He was  _ finally _ going to be able to leave the camp and even discover a whole other community! To say he was excited was an understatement. On the day they were set to leave, he could barely keep his hands still long enough to buckle his seat belt as he settled in the passenger seat beside Viggo. After  _ months _ , he was going to be able to see something other than the immediate area around the main house in the camp. Not only that, but he would meet entirely new people! 

He tried to keep a blank expression on his face as two more men slid into the backseat before Viggo took off down the drive. There would be two more vehicles following them just in case they ran into trouble, but only the four people in this vehicle would be entering the new community. The rest were there as a contingency. 

This was going to be their largest advancement yet. Viggo had informed him that this new community was located on an old farm and that it was very likely that they had livestock. This trip would procure them an ally, a stable trade route (hopefully), and maybe even their own livestock. They had brought several things to trade for livestock, but that was only if the new community even wanted to see them. 

Viggo had warned Hiccup not to reveal that their camp had electricity from the sun or running water, nor should he mention the number of vehicles they have. He also cautioned Hiccup to not be naive and told both him and the two men with them that the people could very well shoot them on sight. Hiccup, however, wasn’t worried. He knew just how demented people could be, but he just  _ knew  _ this was worth the risk. 

Hiccup watched out of the window as the men opened the gate and allowed them to leave. He couldn’t help but feel relieved at not being caged in by the fence any longer. Viggo reached over and rested his hand on Hiccup’s knee, but Hiccup hardly even noticed. Besides, he wasn’t going to risk losing the opportunity to go on this outing over his  _ discomfort _ . Hell no. 

They drove in silence for a long time until Hiccup noticed the men in the back fidgeting as if nervous. They all bore serious expressions, as if they were about to be in a battle. Which, sure, the new community might shoot at them, but they all seemed a little too disturbed for that to be the full reason for their anxiety. 

Hiccup tried to ignore their dark expressions and instead turned to Viggo as the older man squeezed his knee. They’ve been on the road for quite a while, so they  _ must _ be close.

Viggo soon confirmed his suspicions. “Alright. We are about ten minutes out. Once there, me and Hiccup will exit the vehicle and speak to whoever is guarding their gate. You two will remain in the vehicle until I motion for you to exit. Hiccup, you will remain silent until we know that they are not hostile, alright?” Viggo said, turning to look him in the eye. 

Hiccup nodded, unable to keep the excitement off of his face. He’s not sure why everyone else is acting so serious; this is an  _ amazing _ opportunity. Viggo rolled down the truck's window and held his arm straight out, signaling for the other two trucks to branch off in different directions to act as their support. They were to stay out of sight of the new community.

“Hiccup, I invited you on this mission for several reasons. Mainly because I am not a very comforting person. I need you to keep the people at ease during our discussions. You need to convey that we are not a threat to them,” the older man said before taking his hand off of Hiccup’s knee. 

Hiccup simply nodded, reaching down to fiddle with his prosthetic to keep himself occupied as he waited for the torturously slow minutes to pass. 

Finally,  _ finally _ , he could see a wall in the distance. The obstruction towered over them as they neared, looking rather intimidating. There were numerous of the dead pressed against it, but the people posted at the tops of the walls seemed unperturbed by the corpses pressing in. 

Now,  _ this _ structure had the potential to withstand a horde. Hiccup was impressed already, and he wasn’t even  _ inside _ . They were going to gain  _ much _ by becoming these people’s allies. 

Viggo pulled the truck to a stop, and the dead immediately began to head towards them in waves. 

“Change of plans. Hiccup, stay put,” Viggo said before swiftly exiting the truck. He didn’t look to see whether Hiccup would obey him, instead keeping his eyes trained on the people on top of the wall. He shut the truck door, leaving him weaponless, alone, and facing a mass of the dead. 

Hiccup watched as Viggo ignored the dead slowly encasing them as he waved at the people on the wall. Hiccup couldn’t quite make out what the man was shouting to the guards over the roar of the truck, but whatever it was made them look at one another in consideration. They didn’t have much time to consider whatever Viggo offered as the dead steadily pressed closer to the older man. They must have been more worried about his safety than he was because they were soon frantically gesturing for him to get back into the truck. He did, just moments before the dead swarmed them, their monstrous faces pressed against the glass. 

One of the people on top of the wall disappeared from sight while the other continued to keep a close watch on their vehicle. A side glance at Viggo showed a trail of sweat leading down the side of his face. Perhaps he wasn’t as fearless of the dead as he tried to convey. Hiccup turned to look at the dead trying to claw their way through the glass to get to him. 

He almost felt sorry for them. They did use to be human, after all. 

Soon, the guard returned with three more people in tow. It was hard to tell what they were doing since they were primarily just silhouettes on top of the massive wall due to the sun being just behind them. However, if he had to guess, it seemed as if they were arguing amongst one another about whether or not to allow them entry. 

After a few tense minutes, one of the guards motioned for them to come forward, and so Viggo did, knocking over the dead that were hanging on to their truck and running over the few that had gathered towards the front. There was a sickening crunch, and a splash of brown blood as the truck bumpily made its way to where the large wooden door was being lifted. 

They quickly drove underneath the wooden door, hearing a deafening thud as it dropped shut behind them, sealing them in. The few dead that had clung onto the truck or were quick enough to make it through the opening were swiftly dispatched by the people that had gathered to meet them. There were a few guns trained on them, but Hiccup had never felt happier. 

There were real  _ people _ here. There were women and men surrounding them with weapons and tense faces, but behind that, Hiccup could see teenagers climbing on top of the houses to see what was going on and even a pregnant lady pulling on a toddler’s hand to guide her small family into the safety of their house. 

Hiccup couldn’t keep the smile off of his face, even as a lady with a machete brutally dispatched the two dead that had been closest to Hiccup, splattering their blood all over his window. For the first time in a  _ long _ time, he imagined himself free of Viggo and their community. In comparison to this, their community seemed absolutely pathetic. Sure, these people probably didn’t have running water or electricity, but that was just about the  _ only _ thing truly going for Viggo’s community. 

He could imagine in vivid detail bringing Heather here and them both being able to live away from their abusers. He takes a deep breath, pressing his hands into his legs to try and keep them from shaking. It had been  _ far _ too long since he entertained the thought of his life after Viggo. Because what if there could be an ‘after Viggo’ life? What if he really  _ did _ manage to escape the man? Could this community really be the answer? 

He truly hoped so.

There were shouts of them to roll down the windows and put their hands outside of the vehicle, and so they slowly did. The people gathered around them seemed much calmer after this, and the lady with the machete shouted at them to stay put. Seconds ticked by, and Hiccup assumed they were waiting for something. Or perhaps, some _ one _ . 

Hiccup’s eyes scanned the crowd but eventually settled on a group of teenagers leaning dangerously far over the edge of the roof to try and get a better look at the newcomers. They were shoving at one another, eyes wide as they fought for the best view.

He smiled at their antics, suddenly longing for Heather to be at his side. She would be so much  _ happier _ here. Hell, maybe she would even find someone special and start her own family? Hiccup bets that Heather would be a good mother if she ever decided to have her own kids. Surely settling down and finding someone that makes you happy isn’t too much to ask for. 

Of course, just because he sees women and children and the makings of a stable community, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this community would be a safe place for him or Heather. Although, almost anywhere would be safer for them than where they are now. Besides, Hiccup’s three-month autonomy deal with Viggo is just about to run out, and Heather never received such a break. 

He looked to Viggo, who was watching something through his side mirror. Hiccup turned to see the three people plus the two guards that had been on top of the wall approaching them. 

Viggo cleared his throat before addressing the group. “We’re not here to hurt you! We live north of you and stumbled across your community. We come in hopes of establishing trade and forming an alliance of sorts. May we talk to whoever is in charge?” Viggo asks, voice falling only slightly short of soothing. 

The group walked past Viggo, and towards the front of the truck. 

Of the three people that were on top of the wall, there was a rather short man with sharp facial features and a stern expression whose eyes never strayed from Viggo. Beside him was a large red-headed man with a wide, almost maniacal grin that instantly reminded Hiccup of Hank. He would try his best to stay  _ far _ away from that man. On the short man’s other side was a blonde woman with a mean look in her eye. 

She leaned over and whispered something in the shorter man’s ear, causing his eyes to immediately snap to Hiccup. The man’s cold eyes seemed to look straight through him, as if drawing out every secret he had ever intended to hide. After several seconds of trying to force himself to meet the man’s eyes, he finally looked away to the blonde woman who was also staring at him. 

His throat suddenly felt very tight. He was trying to ignore it, but the woman reminded him very strongly of Astrid with her ‘ _ I can kill you with my pinkie _ ’ glare. He had to look away from her too. He didn’t even try and look at the Hank-like man and instead forced himself to look back at the shorter man. 

Said man narrowed his eyes and motioned for them to exit the vehicle. Hiccup looked to Viggo, who nodded his approval. Hiccup exited the passenger side, steadying himself against the truck before taking the first step towards the three strangers. After a few steps, the shorter man held up his hand signaling them to stop. 

“Who the hell are you?” He asked in a calm, almost bored voice, eyes shining with indifference. 

Viggo stepped forward despite the man telling them to stop and smiled charmingly at the shorter man, outstretching his hand. “My name is Viggo Grimeborn, and this is my associate, Hiccup Haddock,” he said, but the older man simply stared at the outstretched hand as if offended. 

The red-headed man broke out in an awkward, almost malicious laughter before stepping forward to shake Viggo’s hand. “Sorry! This is Kane,” the man said with eager eyes and a wicked grin that seemed to unnerve even Viggo. “He doesn’t shake hands. I’m Dagur, and this is Kalin, Kane’s sister,” the man said while gesturing towards the blonde woman. 

Hiccup smiled at them, even though the tension around them seemed as if a single step out of line on either side would result in bloodshed. The only one that  _ hadn’t _ noticed the tension was Dagur, who was still shaking Viggo’s hand with both of his own and staring down at their joined hands in a slightly disturbing way.

“Well,” Viggo said while carefully retracting his hand. “As I said earlier, we are here to discuss potential trade?”

The question hung in the air for several long moments, until finally, Kane nodded. “Alright. You two will come with me to discuss terms of trade, but the other two will wait here. Fair?”

Viggo nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but Kane beat him to it. “Kalin here will search you both for weapons before I allow you further into the community,” he said as the woman stepped forward, her assault rifle slung over her back as she first approached Hiccup. 

He held his arms out, and she patted him down, finding nothing but the notebook and pen that Hiccup decided to bring. Next, she searched Viggo, who was also unarmed. 

Viggo grinned as the woman returned to Kane’s side. “As I said, we came to make a deal.”

Kane gave a short nod before turning away and leading them down a dirt path lined with houses. Hiccup was in awe at the sturdy structures they had sprung up for the different families and the number of young children that seemed to be peeking out of windows and through doors at them. These people have felt safe enough in the past three years to have  _ children _ . What an insane concept. 

Kane leads them through their community, passing more houses and several gardens. Hiccup hears a loud and excited bark and turns to see a fluffy black and white dog run up to them, wiggling his butt in excitement. Hiccup can’t help but smile at the dog and stop to greet him. 

“Hey, boy,” he says as he takes a step towards the dog before crouching down awkwardly, leaving his prosthetic out to the side. The dog approaches him and sniffs him all over, paying special attention to the odd contraption he has strapped to his leg before returning to lick Hiccup’s face. He laughs giddily, not sure why such a simple feat like receiving affection from a dog is making him so joyful. 

Maybe because in all of the shit he’s gone through and with all that the world has lost, there still remains a level of normalcy such as a happy dog befriending a stranger. This community appears to be a pocket of light in the dark world, and Hiccup, for once, is elated at the chance to escape with Heather to this oasis. 

What a wonderful ending to their horrible journey that would be. This place is a paradise found in hell. 

Hiccup hears Viggo clear his throat loudly, and his smile drops as he turns towards the man. Viggo looks unimpressed, but Kane, Dagur, and Kalin are looking at him curiously. Hiccup shuffles back to his feet, face red from embarrassment as he rejoins the group. “Sorry,” he mumbles while staring at the ground. 

The dog, however, follows closely at his heels, pressing against his leg until Hiccup pets him some more. He can’t help but smile down at the dog, who looks up at him with a happy face, tongue lolling out to the side.

Hiccup finally tears his eyes away from the dog to see Kalin smiling at him, and he hesitantly returns it. 

They continue until they are at a large farmhouse painted white. Kane leads them onto the porch before sitting down in a rocking chair. Viggo sits down across from him, and they lock eyes. 

“So,” Kane begins almost bored. “What do you have to offer in trade?” 

There are several seconds of heavy silence before Viggo chuckles as if that was an absurd question.

“Well, what does your community need? Ammunition? Clothes?  _ Formula? _ ” Viggo says, leaning forward and interlacing his fingers. 

Hiccup gives Viggo a confused look. He understands that this community has children, and they most likely need formula, but he doesn’t think that Viggo  _ has _ the formula to offer. Although Hiccup never really paid too much attention to all of the things Viggo’s returned with over the past few months, so he isn’t sure. Surely the man wouldn’t offer things that they couldn’t provide. That would end in a fight, Hiccup’s sure of it.

Kane hummed in thought, eyes never leaving Viggo’s. “No. We don’t need any of those things.” His voice held such finality, Hiccup almost thought their ‘trade deal’ had come screeching to a halt, ending in failure. 

There was a pause before Viggo spoke again. “Name what you  _ do _ need. There must be a way for our camps to be mutually beneficial to one another,” Viggo said, voice holding a hint of irritation. 

“We need for nothing,” Kane replied calmly, offering nothing more. 

Viggo seemed furious, but Hiccup wasn’t sure the others would pick up on the subtle details. Outwardly, Viggo was still calm with an easy smile on his face, but Hiccup saw the anger in his eyes and noticed the tight set of his jaw. There was an uneasy silence, and Hiccup shifted from foot to foot, trying to ignore how horribly this was going. 

When it was apparent Viggo was seemingly at a loss for words, Hiccup jumped in. “Well, surely, we can offer you  _ something _ ,” he told Kane with a smile. The man’s sharp eyes turned to address him, and Hiccup fought not to fidget under his heavy gaze. Still, he seemed utterly disinterested in their offer of trade. They were losing him rapidly, if they hadn’t already lost him. Hiccup needed to offer something very valuable and soon. 

There was another moment of tense silence before Hiccup spoke again. “What about- what about prosthetics? There must be people here that would benefit from your community gaining the knowledge of how to create them. And if not, there’s always the possibility of needing the information and skills later,” Hiccup offered. In the warzone they lived in, even a scratch from one of the dead would most likely result in amputation just to be safe. There  _ had _ to be a need for them here. Luckily, Kane’s bored expression shifted to one of intrigue.

“Hiccup, was it?” He asked, and Hiccup nodded respectfully. Kane’s eyes dropped to study his fake leg, and Hiccup leaned his full weight against it, eliciting a creak as it adjusted, the spring coiling tighter at the added weight. He shifted weight again, and the spring creaked again as Hiccup shifted his weight. 

He wouldn’t say his leg was  _ flexible _ , but it had give which made it much easier to walk and run on. It especially made walking up the stairs much easier. Kane’s eyes took in every detail, and he finally nodded. 

“Did you build this yourself, Hiccup?” The man asked, and Hiccup again nodded. The man hummed in approval. “What would you like in return?”

Hiccup glanced at Viggo, but Viggo’s eyes were angrily trained on Kane, who was paying him no mind. Kane’s eyes were focused on Hiccup. 

“Animals.” Hiccup said. “We- we need livestock if we are to eventually be self-sufficient. I assume we can trade with one another over time and eventually acquire enough animals as a safeguard for our community. Besides, it would be smart to keep two separate supplies of animals. Say your cows get sick and die off... you wouldn’t be totally out of luck. There would still be a supply at the opposite community,” he finished, happy that Kane seemed to be considering the proposal. 

Hiccup just hoped that Viggo had actually intended to trade for animals. 

The man’s attention finally returned to Viggo. 

“Very well. I’d like to speak with you in private,” Kane said, referring to Viggo, who nodded curtly. “Would you mind if Hiccup went with Kalin?” 

Viggo shook his head. “Not at all. Hiccup is very good company.”

“Excellent. Kalin? Would you show Hiccup around the community? Specifically, the livestock. And Dagur, please feel free to return to your post,” Kane said, waving off the red-haired man who was now pouting before guiding Viggo inside. 

With that, Hiccup carefully followed Kalin down the porch’s front steps only to be greeted by the black and white dog who had waited for him patiently. 

He and Kalin walked in silence back towards the town, trailed by the fluffy dog who ensured no stone they passed remained unexplored. 

Finally, the woman spoke: “You basically saved that deal back there. Kane said from the first moment he saw your friend that he reminded him of a sleazy businessman. But, he seems to trust you. Still, he rarely agrees to partner with anything, so I still don’t know whether it’ll work out, but for your sake, I hope it does.”

Hiccup offered her a smile but refrained from looking at her face. Now was  _ not _ the time to think of Astrid. Instead, Hiccup turned to look towards their open fields dotted with a few cows. “Your community is pretty large. How’d you build the walls?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Me and Kane didn’t get here until after most of the community was already built. But the people were super nice and let us in. Eventually, Kane was picked as the ‘leader,’” she said, putting air quotation marks around the word. “And we’ve been here ever since. What about you?”

_ What about me? _ Hiccup thought. Surely, if he told this lady of the horrors Viggo has put him through, then they would take him in. Hell, they might even kill Viggo and the two men here with them. They’d undoubtedly be able to fend off the men outside of the camp who wouldn’t even be able to get over the walls. Kane and the community would probably also be able to storm Ryker’s house and rescue Heather by force, but there was no guarantee the man would do that. Actually, it would be very unlikely for the man to risk all of his men for one person. It’s not like the camp offered anything other than solar panels that could possibly be stolen and rewired here. 

Still, Kane seems like a hard man to convince, and Hiccup doubts he’s the type of man to throw together a rescue party and mount an assault against another community without time to plan and prepare. Besides, although Kane  _ said _ they didn’t need ammunition, that doesn’t mean that’s true. If Hiccup was the leader of the camp, he would never reveal that his people were low on weapons or ammunition. It would be admitting a fatal weakness to a potential enemy. 

No, he couldn’t count on this community to rescue Heather. And if he can’t rescue her from Viggo’s camp yet, then there’s no sense in blowing this deal. If the deal succeeds, then that means they can potentially visit again. He might even find an excuse to bring Heather here. 

For this to work, he would have to cover for Viggo, for now. 

“I uh, met up with Viggo a long time ago. He led us to his brother’s house, and when we got there, they already had a community thing,” he said quietly while petting the dog behind the ear as they walked. He’s always been a bad liar, and he hopes Kalin doesn’t notice or call him on it. 

She gives him a funny look but doesn’t press, instead, guiding him down a small dirt path heading towards the red barn in the distance. They’re passing tidy houses brimming with what appears to be happy families and gardens that are overflowing with colorful food. Hiccup even spots a flower garden and wanders over to it. 

“Wow, these are so beautiful,” he comments, wondering just how much food they really have stored if they have the time and land to grow  _ flowers _ . Kalin kneels down and plucks a white flower from where it was growing and presses it into Hiccup’s hand. 

“Here. This is something you can take home with you,” she says, her face flushing slightly as she wraps his fingers around the stem. “You can plant the seeds in it and make your own flowers,” she says quietly.

Hiccup has  _ never _ been especially sociable, and he’s even worse with women, so as soon as he picks up that she could potentially be flirting with him, his tongue suddenly feels too heavy to speak, and he instead stammers out something that might sound like a thank you. 

Kalin laughs at his poor attempt before grabbing his arm and guiding him the rest of the way to the barn. 

“C’mon, there’s someone I want you to meet,” she says before pushing the barn door open. There are several people working around the barn, but they pay them no mind as Kalin pulls him over to a stall housing a beautiful white stallion. 

Hiccup stares at the animal before hesitantly reaching out to pet him. 

“This is Jeremy, named after the first man whose nose I broke,” Kalin states seriously, and Hiccup doesn’t doubt her for a second. 

“Wow,” he says breathily. “You guys have horses?” The dog, who had followed them all the way here because Hiccup was a sucker and couldn’t say  _ no _ when the dog asked for pats, was now jumping up and trying to regain his attention. When Hiccup continued to pet the horse, instead, the dog angrily barked and put himself between Hiccup and the stall. 

He and Kalin both laughed at the dog’s antics. 

He was  _ really _ starting to like it here. Almost dangerously so. It would be so easy for him to rat out Viggo and ask if he could stay here… he knows he’d never be able to truly leave Heather though. 

He prays that one day he’ll manage to get them both here. For the past several months, he’s been getting by, tolerating touches and feeling safe simply because he wasn’t in immediate threat of being hurt again. But he realizes now that that was him simply surviving. He’d wake up, eat a meal that tasted shitty, spend the day doing whatever Viggo wished, and spending the night thankful that he wasn’t being forced to shower with a man that had raped him. 

But this? This community offered people a  _ life _ . It was not only a safe haven but a small pocket of what the world used to be. 

Kalin described the set up of their community as she led him to a tall hill that gave a decent view of its layout. Most people live at the section of the wall where Hiccup and company had entered, seeing as it’s the main way into and out of the walls. This makes it the easiest spot to haul wood and other materials, which was why there were so many houses built right on its edge.

These people truly have no fear of their wall failing them.

The constructed houses were packed together right at the entrance, leaving the rest of the land between the wall and the main house available for farming. Then there were houses scattered across the community close to either the gardens they worked or the fields and pastures. 

The pastures of animals took up most of the land from what Hiccup could see, which was good for their trade. These people could spare animals for sure. 

Kalin showed him the different pastures filled with cows and horses alike, pointing out a black stead that she claimed was Kane’s. Then, she showed him a pen containing  _ massive _ pigs that were not at all bright pink with curly tails like he imagined. No, they probably weighed twice what he did and were fuzzy with pink and black splotches. And they  _ smelled _ .

He wasn’t sure bacon was really worth it. 

Next were the chickens where Kalin taught Hiccup how to tell the roosters and the hens apart before pulling him towards one of their  _ many _ gardens. 

“How long has it been since you had watermelon?” She asked with a sly grin. Hiccup’s mouth watered at the mere thought of having something other than squash, tomatoes, or zucchini.

“ _ Far _ too long,” he said as she picked up a watermelon and carried it out of the garden. They sat down on the side of the road, and she pulled out her pocket knife and cut them both a large piece off. Hiccup unashamedly scarfed it down, making a mess of his hands and face, but Kalin didn’t seem to mind at all, instead spending her time picking the seeds out and piling them up on the ground in front of them. 

Soon, they had attracted the attention of the local kids who gathered around with their big pleading eyes to receive a slice of the fruit. Kalin diligently sliced the watermelon into equal parts, sliding another slice to Hiccup before distributing the fruit between the kids. 

Once they were done, Hiccup was rather sticky, and Kalin had amassed a decent pile of seeds. She requested one of the kids find her a piece of cloth, and in just a minute, she had the seeds wrapped in a piece of cloth which she then handed to Hiccup. 

“Watermelon is easy to grow, and now you can have some as often as you’d like,” she offered with a smile, and Hiccup was unsure of what to do other than to smile and say thank you. He didn’t really know how to fully thank her for how kind she has been to him today. Her behavior was a far cry from her face when she first saw him, but he’s grateful that she seems to trust him. 

Reluctantly, they both stood and headed back towards the large farmhouse. 

A ball passed in front of them, quickly followed by a young child. Hiccup could hear the mother nagging at the child softly in the background to put bug spray on since the sun was just beginning to set. He was almost sad to be so close to the main house where he knew he would be reunited with Viggo and eventually dragged out of this wonderful place and back to the hell hole that awaited him.

“So, Hiccup,” Kalin said as they walked hand in hand, despite both their hands being uncomfortably sticky. “What about your community? Have a  _ special someone _ ?” 

Hiccup frowned slightly, looking down at the white flower in his hand before responding. “I have a friend. She wasn’t able to come today. I really want her to come see this community… It’s amazing,” he said, hating how the words came out much sadder than he had intended. Kalin must have picked up on the mood shift and squeezed his hand. 

“Well, hopefully, your friend, Viggo, secured the deal so we can be in touch more often. What’s your other friend’s name?” Kalin asked while she began to swing their arms as they walked. She was a very sweet person, and Hiccup couldn’t help but feel guilty for going along with this. He could barely look her in the eye because of how closely she resembled Astrid, and yet here he was holding hands with her and wishing he could stay in this safe haven with her simply because he was selfish enough to try and regain some of what he had lost.  _ But she wasn’t Astrid _ , and none of this was fair to her, no matter how much he liked being around her.

“Heather,” he said absentmindedly, eyes focused on the ground so he couldn’t see the sunlight reflect off of Kalin’s golden blonde hair. Her voice sounded nothing like Astrid, so to be fair to her - 

Kalin stopped and jerked him back towards her, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Heather?” She repeated with a grave tone. He looked at her, face conveying the confusion he felt as he slowly nodded. “Does she happen to have a brother?” She said, staring into his eyes as if daring him to lie.

Hiccup nodded, not liking the dangerous tone and posture she had adopted. 

She studied his face seriously for several moments. “ Do you recognize the name _ Ryker _ ?” She hissed, gripping Hiccup’s arms so tight they were sure to bruise. 

Before Hiccup could respond, an ear-shattering explosion could be heard, leaving the entire community encased in stillness. The ball the child had been chasing rolled onwards, abandoned by the child whose sole attention was on the thick, black smoke dancing its way into the sky. People quietly filed out of their houses, whispered questions floating around as they bore witness to the fire as it licked its way through the multitude of wooden houses built closest to the wall. 

He and Kalin both looked on in horror, but she was the first to recover. He was sprawled on the ground with a knife to his throat in an instant. “What the  _ hell _ did you do?!” She hissed, pressing the knife into his skin. Her eyes were frantic and brimming with tears. Her body seemed to be overcome with tremors or either fear or adrenaline, but the knife at his throat was as steady as ever.

He looked at her, frozen and in shock as he too tried to figure out what happened. He stammered out an ‘I don’t know,’ eyes watering at the implication.  _ He did know _ .

Just because  _ he _ wasn’t in on it, doesn’t mean that  _ Viggo _ wasn’t. This had to be his doing. His or maybe Drago’s, but Hiccup didn’t even want to consider that possibility. No, most likely, this was a power play for Viggo. 

_ Of fucking course _ , Hiccup thought. He was naive enough to think that Viggo had brought him to this community with good intentions. Hell, the man had even told him he was here to help get the community to trust them. Viggo most likely intended to attack the community from the start. 

What better way to get past the wall than to be invited inside? How else to take over a community immensely stronger than your own? Earn their trust and then betray them. 

He felt sick. He had done his job  _ perfectly _ . Kane had agreed to negotiations because of Hiccup’s input. Kalin had been  _ so _ extremely kind to him… And he had unintentionally stabbed them both in the back.

She must have realized he either didn’t know what was going on or wasn’t going to be much help, because she soon vanished, leaving Hiccup to scramble to his feet and run after her, trying desperately not to lose her in the confusion.

The townsfolk had come to life, panic and fear driving them into a frenzy as they pushed and shoved at one another to try and find shelter. The confusion only grew as parents fought through the crowd to find their children that were lying on the ground, trampled by those rushing to find their  _ own _ people. The sounds of people screaming in horror and sobbing echoed hauntingly through Hiccup’s brain as he tried to force his own way through the crowd. 

The sacred and seemingly untouched community had lost the illusion of peace. Now, its citizens were madly fighting for their own survival, injuring others if it meant that they and their families would be safe. 

Strange what panic can drive people to do.

He finally breaks free from the crowd and can see Kalin several yards in front of him as she ran towards the source of the smoke. Hiccup’s lungs were burning, and his bad leg was aching from the pressure put on his injury by sprinting as he tried to catch up with her, but he ignored it.

He sees Kalin round a corner of the first house, now less than half a mile away from where the explosion originated. He follows her, almost slamming into her as he turns the corner of the house. She’s frozen in place, staring at the scene before her. 

Her brother is bleeding badly, one broken arm held close to his chest and the other held out in a placating gesture. His once calm expression is now filled with fear as he pleads with Viggo to stop. Viggo, however, has a predatory grin on his face, one that Hiccup is all too familiar with.

Viggo has a rifle leveled at the smaller man’s chest, and he says something to him that Hiccup can’t make out. Kalin seems to snap out of her shock and goes for the assault rifle still strapped across her back. 

She isn’t quick enough. There’s the sound of gunfire and then of Kale’s body hitting the ground with a dull thud. 

Kalin releases a haunting sob that sounds as if it were meant to be a scream as she raises the rifle towards Viggo. There’s the sound of more gunfire, but instead of Viggo’s blood staining the ground, it’s Kalin’s. 

Hiccup’s world goes silent. The sound of gunfire fades until it’s little more than static in the back of his mind. He moves unsteadily towards her body, until he’s there beside her, rolling her over so he can see her face. Her eyes are closed, and there’s a small gash in her head where she was grazed by a bullet. He places both hands to the side of her face, turning her face so he could see her better. 

He sees the rise and fall of her chest and breathes a sigh of relief, going to move her head into his lap. Just before he does, there are harsh hands grabbing him and pulling him away. He fights, kicking and screaming, but the man restraining him is winning. He  _ always _ wins. Hiccup manages to grab Kalin’s pocket, but Viggo soon rips him away and drags him around the corner of the house until she is out of sight. Only then does Hiccup stop fighting and sag into the man’s hold. 

Viggo is speaking to him, but Hiccup doesn’t have the energy to do anything other than look down at his hands that were now sticky not only from watermelon, but from blood as well. 

Kalin’s blood. 

Crumpled and bloody in his hand was the delicate white flower she had gifted him earlier—what a beautiful gift it had been. Now ruined and stained with Viggo’s sins. Just like him.

He hears the hum of Viggo still whisper-yelling at him in a menacing, authoritative tone. The man even shakes Hiccup roughly, as if that will help get whatever point he was trying to make sink in. 

Clutched in his other hand was something that Kalin  _ hadn’t  _ gifted him, but rather something he had taken. 

He turned to Viggo, a mournful expression on his face as he drove Kalin’s knife into his chest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha!   
> Is it really even a chapter unless Hiccup and Viggo try to kill each other?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, it has been a WHILE. And to leave you on a cliffhanger the last chapter... sorry! :)
> 
> Still, I intend to finish this story in its entirety and it will not be discontinued. The chapters will just take longer. Hopefully, not near as long as this update has taken! 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Viggo decided to leave Ryker in charge of the ‘new camp’. Ryker was cruel and terrifying and would no doubt keep the townsfolk carefully in line by making examples of everyone that dared to defy his rules. Hiccup had to admit that it was wise to leave such a terrifying man in the position of dictator. It was  _ wrong _ and would no doubt be a decision that resulted in a multitude of deaths, but it would ward off most rebellion. 

Besides, Ryker had lost his initial community to Viggo as soon as the man had shown up with Hiccup in tow. All of Ryker’s men were now more loyal to Viggo and the territory was indisputably Viggo’s. By giving his brother his  _ own _ territory, Viggo would be preventing any further arguments or petty disagreements between the two over power. 

Not only that, but considering that the town had undoubtedly sustained great loss through the takeover, they wouldn’t be in the shape to revolt or resist so soon. Perhaps that’s why Viggo didn’t feel the need to stick around and trusted to leave matters in Ryker’s hands.

Viggo seemed to be quite pleased with everything that had transpired. Hiccup watched from the backseat of one of the trucks as the man smiled as his men loaded up trailer after trailer with cows and other livestock and saddled up numerous horses to take back to camp. Trucks drove in one after the other into Viggo’s newest territory and were loaded down with food, guns, and other supplies. 

They were stripping the community of everything that made it beautiful. Everything that made it feel  _ safe _ .

The streets that had been filled with laughter and playing children mere hours before were now stained with blood as the echo of sobs and distant gunfire resonated through the people gathered there. The community’s people were lined down the street, on their knees. Their carefree and happy demeanor that was present before the invasion was now replaced with terror that made their bodies shake and timid voices that tried in vain to plead for their safety through tears. Viggo’s men were all armed to the teeth, weapons trained on the citizens as if to keep them too afraid to act out. 

The children that had been playing amongst each other were now cowering behind their parents and sobbing as quietly as they could manage. The pregnant woman that Hiccup had seen when he first entered the community, was now lying in a pool of her own blood, her skin burned and blackened. 

It was difficult for him to look, but he didn’t dare spare himself of the horrors. He, after all, had  _ caused _ this. The least he could do was allow himself to feel the same burning shame and hatred of himself that the innocent people staring at the barrel of a gun most likely felt. He knew that he would only be able to feel a fraction of what they felt. In the end, Viggo wanted him alive. The same couldn’t be said for these people. He would never experience the same fear that they felt. He would surely be punished, but he would most likely survive. 

The dog that had followed him throughout the day was now nowhere to be found. The explosion, gunfire, and the screaming that followed probably scared the dog away. Hopefully, he was smart enough to run towards the forest or pastures where he could hide away from all of the chaos. 

Hiccup wished he too could hide. Instead, he was safely buckled into the back seat of a truck, hands tied to the headrest in front of him and prosthetic removed. There was barely a scratch on him, and yet he’s never felt worse. It had hurt when his friends died. He had been miserable after his father passed and terrified after the men had hurt him all those months ago. 

But now? He’d take terror, and pain, and misery, and emptiness over this all-consuming  _ guilt _ that ate at him. Because as he looked around at the horrors that had befallen this once great community, he knew that he was responsible. 

He had, of course, failed to kill Viggo not once, not twice, but  _ three times now _ . Hell, as Hiccup drove Kalin’s knife into his chest, the man had simply smiled at him as if he had just given Viggo the best gift in the world before shoving him away. Despite Hiccup immediately lunging for the man again, his mind consumed with lust for the man’s blood, Viggo had managed to defend himself long enough for more of his men to come to his aid. 

Hiccup wasn’t  _ positive _ that Viggo was still alive, but he doubted the man was gravely injured. He had been bandaged and on his feet less than an hour ago as he walked past the truck Hiccup was confined to, so it was safe to assume he hadn’t injured Viggo severely enough to keep him down for long. 

If given another chance, he would  _ have _ to do better. Because of him, this community was being stripped down to its basic components, everything they had worked for being stolen. Not only that, but according to the conversation Hiccup had overheard earlier, Viggo planned to use Ryker to force the survivors to work the land to provide them with food and wood. 

It was despicable. What was worse, was that he wasn’t the only one tied up in the back of a vehicle. Right across the spot where his cage was parked, there was a van being loaded with women.  _ It was disgusting _ . But no matter how much he  _ wanted _ to be furious, he couldn’t feel anything other than guilt. Immense guilt for aiding in gaining this community’s trust just for Viggo to stab them in the back. 

None of this would have happened if he hadn’t asked to come here. 

He should have  _ seen _ the signs. Viggo had been recruiting men and picking up stragglers to join the community despite their lack of resources. He had prioritized teaching them how to use a gun not to help defend against the dead, but to build up his ranks to try and take over another community. Not only that, but Viggo  _ inviting _ him to leave camp and go outside the community with him should have been a red flag enough on its own.

What was worse… he still hasn’t seen Kalin since his fight with Viggo. He prayed she was still alive, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything other than dread. She was aggressive and would want revenge for her brother’s death. Hiccup could only think of one real reason as to why Viggo and his men would risk allowing her to live, and if his suspicions were correct, she might be better off dead. 

Hiccup’s head was pounding and he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cool leather headrest in front of him to try and get some relief. He needed to fully see and understand the horrors that he had brought upon this community, but he almost couldn’t bear it. 

The watermelon seeds that Kalin had gifted him felt as if they were burning his skin as they rested heavily in his pocket. Her actions had been incredibly kind and welcoming as if acting as a physical olive branch between their communities and Hiccup had unwillingly spit in the face of her and the community's generosity and trust. 

He was startled out of his thoughts as the door across from him opened. The man he least wanted to see was standing there, bandaged and bloody with a massive smile across his face.

“Hello, dear. Don’t fret; we’re almost done here,” he said as he leaned against the opened truck door, a rope grasped tightly in his hand. “I got you a present,” he said as he pulled upwards on the rope forcing a terrified dog to jump into the backseat with him.

Hiccup stared at the poor animal in shock, confused into silence. This was a gift? The dog from earlier?

The dog spotted Hiccup and slowly walked towards him, tail tucked tightly between his legs as his black ears were pressed tightly against his lowered head. Hiccup could feel the dog's wet nose press against his stump as he curled his body under Hiccup’s feet as if begging for protection.

Hiccup’s eyes stayed focused on the dog, but he could feel Viggo’s dark eyes burning into his skin. 

There was a long pause before Viggo spoke again. “You did an excellent job today, dear. We’ve almost guaranteed our survival in these trying times. The community is also very pleased and being awfully compliant with our wishes, so I trust a good relationship is on the horizon.”

Hiccup felt sick to his stomach as he heard the man’s demented view of things. Surely Viggo  _ knew _ how insane and ridiculous he sounded. 

When it was apparent that Hiccup wasn’t going to offer him a response or even a glance, Viggo slapped the side of the truck making both Hiccup and the dog jump before he shut the door. 

The dog looked up at him with wide brown eyes and Hiccup felt his own eyes blur with tears. 

He wasn’t sure how he could ever make up for his failures. 

  
  


The sound of gunshots would forever be ingrained in Kalin’s mind. The sight of her brother Kane being gunned down at the hands of Viggo Grimborn was still clawing its way in her mind every chance it got, not offering her a moment of reprieve. His blood would forever stain the ground of this unforgivable world that now felt much more hostile and cold than it ever had before. 

The next gunshot she heard was depressingly not from her own doing. 

She had felt blinding pain as the shot rang out before she fell. Despite the pain, she was not spared the sounds of the havoc being reeked around her. Endless fire rained down on her people at the hands of Hiccup’s people. 

Her head felt as if it had been split open and her senses were scattered, but she could still feel as two warm hands encased her face. She desperately wanted to open her eyes, but all too soon the warm hands were ripped away and she was left alone. There was a tug at her pants and her eyes shot open in fear, only to see Hiccup being dragged around a corner while clutching her knife securely in his hand. 

It was  _ Viggo _ dragging him away, and she tried to force her limbs to respond to go to his aid. She had initially trusted him, and despite the horrors around her, she knew her gut was correct. He had lied about his relationship with Viggo Grimborn, she knew that for a fact. And the horror and rage displayed on his face as he struggled against the man told the story all on its own. 

He hadn’t been a part of the plot to overtake her community. Was he lied to? Or forced to help in their raid?

She wasn’t sure but knew that either way she would help him. Not only did she see him as an innocent, but he didn’t seem like a fighter either. What he  _ could _ offer was knowledge and information. He’d be valuable to have in the community, but his real value was that he might know about Viggo and his forces.

Unless of course he knew nothing of the raid and was caught just as much off guard as they were. 

Either way, she was determined to kill that scum, Viggo. She forced herself onto her side and reached up to hold her bleeding head before dragging herself to where Viggo had taken Hiccup. 

Her body was screaming at her to stop, but she pushed on, desperate to at least help  _ someone _ during this shitshow. Besides, if Hiccup was fighting Viggo, then together, they might be able to take him down for good. 

She pushed herself to her hands and feet and began crawling, finally reaching a hand towards the edge of the building and pulling herself the rest of the way there. 

She reached for her knife to assist Hiccup, only to find her pocket empty. Right, Hiccup had it. Her head throbbed as she slowly pieced together the scene around her. As she looked up, she saw her knife buried in Viggo’s chest, Hiccup’s hands wrapped firmly around the hilt. She knew she was processing things much slower than usual due to the hit to her head. 

Still, she watched diligently as Hiccup ripped the knife out of Viggo’s chest, but the man blocked Hiccup’s next attempt and they began to wrestle for the knife. 

She forced herself to her feet and opened her mouth to call out Hiccup’s name, readying herself to take a step towards them, but then she felt a harsh hand wrap around her throat and rip her backward off of her feet and making the words she wanted to say choke in her throat. 

She fought against the person’s hold as she was dragged backward into a man’s chest, one meaty arm wrapped around her waist and the other around her throat. 

Dizziness and nausea overcame her as she was ripped backward, leaving her vision blurry as she took a moment to try and regain her senses. 

“You’re quite the looker, huh?” A menacing voice whispered into her ear, the man’s hot breath burning its way across the side of her face. She tried in vain to force the man off of her which earned her a mocking laugh. “And a fighter, too, huh?” He said as he threw her against the side of the building. Upon impact, the air was knocked out of her lungs and she felt her knees buckle, but before she could fall, another hand was wrapped around her throat, pinning her against the brick wall.

She looked up and through the black dots in her vision, she saw a manic man with wild red hair and an unkempt beard. Her head was spinning and she gasped for air, trying to will her vision to clear. She needs to be ready to fight. This man was standing between her and Viggo Grimborn.

“My name is Hank,  _ little vixen _ . And I think I just might keep you all for myself,” the man said while stepping closer. Kalin steadied herself against the brick wall and reached a hand up to grab the man’s arm that was grasping her throat. She forced her lungs to take in a breath of air before using her grip on the man’s arm and her position against the wall to drive her foot as hard as she could into the man’s genitals. 

_ Hank _ , as he said, let out an undignified yelp and crumpled and Kalin tried to run past him. He reached out and grabbed her foot, ripping it out from under her and sending her spiraling into the dirt. In seconds he was on top of her, both hands wrapped around her throat as he began to choke her.

She pulled her knees up before he could pin her down with his body and pressed both of her feet against his chest and pushed as hard as she could. The man’s grip loosened, but he didn't’ let her go, instead, cursing under his breath and trying to push harder. 

She had always known being asphyxiated would make her  _ lungs _ burn, but she never expected the bright flashes of pain that fired in her skull as her brain was starved of oxygen. The pressure was building and building in her head until she felt as if it was going to explode.

She had trained for this.  _ Kane _ had trained her for this but nothing could prepare her for the pain. 

Still, this pain was minimal compared to the feeling in her chest that seemed to weigh down her very soul. 

She clawed her fingernails as deep as she could into his hands, leaving streaks of blood staining his hands. He laughed and squeezed harder as she pulled her left leg away and let his weight settle again, before moving her left leg across his right shoulder and then pulling with all of her might. 

He lost his balance and had hardly any leverage to fight against her and so toppled over, landing in the dirt with a thud. Even after she was freed, all she could do was lay still and gasp for air. Her head was throbbing hard enough to affect her vision. She could hear the man beside her recover and begin to move, but she still couldn’t see much of anything. 

She forced herself to sit up, preparing to get up and run. She still had to help Hiccup and kill Grimborn.

It only took a few seconds from there for the dots to gradually withdraw and for her vision to return. 

However, the only thing she managed to see was a brutish fist coming before it connected, throwing her backward. Her breath was once again knocked out of her as her back connected with the solid ground. She gasped, only having a moment to recover before familiar hands wrapped themselves back around her throat. There was a heavy weight that settled across her pelvis and then she was pinned. 

She trained her eyes on the man’s furious face above her. He was going to kill her. There was no question. His eyes were brimming with absolute hatred with no room for remorse or mercy. His behavior was that of a wild animal and there was even spittle at his mouth as if he was about to devour her whole after he killed her. But more telling than anything was the gruesome smile that remained on his face throughout the whole exchange. 

She reached in vain to try and claw out his eyes in her last few seconds of consciousness, which only acted to make his mocking smile grow wider. 

All too soon, her arms stopped responding to her and her eyes widened desperately just as her vision began to darken. She minutely registered the thud as her arms fell limply to her sides as her pounding head finally began to cave to the lack of oxygen. 

She pulled her eyes away from his, looking past him to see the sky one last time before blackness swarmed her vision.

There were several seconds of nothing but pain before the large hands were removed and her lungs could finally stretch, forcing air to fill them once again. With the sudden introduction of air, her lungs seized and she rolled over as her body was wracked with coughs. There was a large hand rubbing her back and she blinked her teary eyes open, trying to fight off the sobs that threatened to overcome her.

The coughing fit subsided and she heaved for breath as the man pulled her into a sitting position. 

“If you’re smart, you won’t try something like that again,” he whispered darkly into her ear before jerking her to her feet and wrapping his arm around her before pulling her down the street. 

She fought to regain her footing and reached a hand up to wipe at her eyes as she was led towards the entrance to the community. She tried to catch her breath and calm herself down long enough to think of a solution. She looked away from where the red-haired man was leading her and saw Hiccup fighting against a small group of men that were dragging him towards a truck that pulled up beside them. She watched as he was forced into the truck, Viggo standing a few feet away and frowning as he watched the scene unfold. 

So Hiccup failed to kill him. 

She shouldn’t have hoped for a miracle. After all, she had failed to fight off her attacker, too. Although, perhaps if Hiccup hadn’t taken her knife she  _ would _ have been able to defend herself, the bastard. 

As it was, she was barely standing. Despite now being able to breathe, she still felt light-headed and the longer she stood, the more the injury from her head bled, gravity guiding the blood downwards to collect in her right eye. 

She’s probably lost more blood than she thinks and -

Kalin is pulled from her thoughts as her boot steps into something sticky and wet. She glances down to see a pool of blood and immediately closes her eyes to try and avoid the truth. But she had already seen Kane’s pale face and his empty eyes. The image of the gunshot resting above his right eye forever burned into her mind as she tried desperately to keep her one single thread of sanity intact. 

She couldn’t comprehend all of the horrors of today, but she  _ had _ to. Otherwise, she would never be able to help herself or take back her community.  _ So many people were counting on her _ . She couldn’t let them down. 

Still, her body crumpled on its own as she tried to choke back the sobs clawing their way up her throat. 

The man, Hank, simply sighed as if annoyed before hoisting her over his shoulder. She cried out and began to struggle against his hold, but he pinned her legs to his chest and ignored her weak hits against his back as he continued to take her further away from her brother’s body. 

She kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut, not sure whether she could handle seeing Kane again. That, and she knew damn well the bodies of her people were also lining the street. Her cries and shouts were ignored as Hank led her towards a white truck that was being guarded by multiple men. 

Hank dropped her into the back of the truck before turning to address the men. 

“This one’s all mine,” he said. Kalin elected to ignore him as she stared in horror at the four other women cowering in the back of the van. One had a name written sloppily on her forehead that was smudged in her efforts to remove it. They were bound and had tear streaks on their cheeks. They were shaking in terror. Kalin forced all the horrors she’s witnessed today down. 

These were her people and they  _ needed _ her to be strong. 

“If she’s yours then write your name on her face to keep things in order,” one of the men said in a bored tone. 

Kalin turned to face Hank, ready to fight, but he grabbed her chin and shoved her against the side of the van with ease. He uncapped a marker with his teeth and grinned at her as she grabbed his hand to keep him from marking her. He simply laughed and pulled her towards him before slamming her head against the side of the van again. 

Her vision darkened for a moment and she could feel the wet press of a marker against her skin as she reached up to try and stop the man. 

All too soon, her chance was gone and the man dropped her, satisfied with his victory as he left. The guards approached her, reaching to pick up the discarded marker and cap as they whispered about what an ass the man was before both working together to bind her hands together with rope. 

Kalin was  _ pissed _ . She wasn’t used to losing fights and here she was losing  _ everything _ she’s ever had all in one day. She couldn’t even  _ defend _ herself properly in front of her own people. It was sickening. 

After she was bound, they pushed her towards the back of the van with the other women. The fight had all but drained out of her, leaving her sore, hurting, and  _ empty _ . 

“Kalin?” One of the women whispered, reaching her bound hands up to cradle her face. “Y-you look so pale… Your head needs to be bandaged,” the youngest of the women said through her tears. 

Kalin forced herself to look at her, trying to offer her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine,” she said, voice hoarse as she croaked out her response. 

“Yes. You will be just fine,” another woman said as she ripped off a piece of her shirt and wrapped Kalin’s head along with the other two women’s help. Even with their hands bound, they were determined to help in what ways they could. After she was bandaged, the youngest, Kalin believed her name to be Charlie, pulled her backward so she could rest against her chest. 

“Try and sleep, Kalin. We’ll wake you if we need to, okay?” 

Kalin nodded in response although she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep while in such immediate danger. 

Still, she decided to rest mostly because she knew if she refused, it would only be hurting herself and would probably result in a fight with the other women. 

She eventually shut her eyes, mind working over every detail of the day’s events to try and find some miracle solution or figure out a strategy to help her people survive. 

  
  
  
  


The day stretched on far longer than seemed possible, with more and more women joining them in the back of the van. Some were closed off, eyes lost in a daze as their mind wandered to try and spare them from reality. Some were crying and inconsolable while others tried to be strong and offer comfort and hopeful words. Some women were bruised and bloody while others seemed mostly unharmed. A few were dressed only in their undergarments and bleeding through their underwear detailing the horrors they endured. 

Kalin was exhausted, but she was also pissed. Names were written on a majority of the women’s faces, claiming that they  _ belonged _ to a man. It was  _ sickening _ . 

The van had cranked roughly half an hour ago, leading them, most likely, away from their safe haven and towards a den of wolves. The back of the van wasn’t air-conditioned, making the ride unbearably hot. 

They were all soaked in sweat and panting for air, trying simply to survive the trip. Although, maybe it would be better if none of them made it to where the men were trying to take them. 

Kalin could hear the sound of numerous engines around them as well as the clop of horse’s hooves as they trotted beside the vehicles. 

Their community had been stripped of its safety, its’  _ people _ , and now its resources. There was most likely hardly anything left of their safe haven. 

  
  
  


Dagur had been at his post when he heard the explosion. Several of his men rushed to where he was standing at the edge of the wall to see the chaos below. There was a second of complete stillness before the screams of his people pushed him into action. He pulled his assault rifle into his hands and shouted an order for his men to arm themselves. 

John, an established sniper, began taking aim and popping the men below. Another man stayed to guard him and the rest of them rushed towards the iron ladder leading to the fight below. 

Dagur was in the lead, still too shocked to truly process the situation. All he knew was that the men they welcomed into their community were now attacking them. He would defend his people until his dying breath. 

The man above him was gunned down and his body fell, almost knocking Dagur off of the ladder. He continued his quick descent, limbs shaking with anticipation for the fight ahead of him. Another of his men fell, landing with a thud just as Dagurs own feet hit the ground. 

He armed himself and raced towards the commotion, taking cover behind a corner of a house before popping out to take down the man shooting his men off of the ladder. Before he could, there was a deafening crack before the man fell, taken down by John. 

Dagur took aim at the other men that had already taken cover and ready to fight them. 

Kane had sent him back to his post on the far side of the wall, away from where the men had entered. Dagur had thought this was ignorant, but he sort of understood. Kalin, their leader in battle, was staying in the city with a hostage. The scrawny kid with the missing leg would be her piece of leverage in case shit hit the fan. Dagur was spaced evenly between where the men entered and their back door. 

It was a smart strategy, to keep Dagur and his men in the position to help whatever side needed it in case of emergency, but he still wished he had  _ been _ there. He and his men might have been able to prevent this. 

Still, that meant there were only a handful of men that seemed to have followed them out here to kill them before they could join the effort. That meant this was a strategized attack. The real question was whether these stragglers came from the main entrance, meaning that they had taken control of the gate, or had they snuck in through the back?

If that were the case, would it be smarter for Dagur to take his men to hold off the back entrance and allow Kalin and her people to defend the front? With the sound of gunfire at the main gate, he knew there was a fight, but since Kalin had been away from her men the last Dagur had seen her, would they be able to form ranks without her guidance? 

He was conflicted as he and the remainder of his men killed off the last of the intruders. Should he lead them to the main gate or the back entrance? 

The sound of gunfire was like music to his ears, enchanting him,  _ calling _ to him. Yeah, there was no way Dagur would ever be able to run  _ away _ from the fight. 

“Sir? What should we do?”

“Dagur! We have four men down and six injured. We need to get them help!”

“Sir, John and Remy are on their way to meet us. What would you have us do?”

Dagur smiled and turned to address his men. 

“We’re heading towards the fight at the main entrance. Join John and Remy and travel the length of the wall. Kill any stranger and don’t stop until you’re in the position to provide support to our men on the ground. It’ll take longer for you to walk the wall, so we’ll beat you to the fight, but I expect you to join us. We’ll need it. If the plan changes, we'll call you.,” he said before turning to another man. 

“How many did you say were injured? Six, right? How bad?” Dagur said, leaning down to retrieve weapons from the fallen men. 

“Three are minor, two are serious and probably won’t make it and the other needs medical attention if he’s going to make it.”

“Alright, you stay and provide aid to the men,” Dagur pushed a rifle towards him. “And take this. I expect you and the three with minor injuries to protect the other three men, alright? Mark will make a run to the supply store half a mile down the wall and will bring back a medkit.”

The younger man nodded and took the weapon before rushing back towards where the injured had been gathered. Mark simply nodded and took off at a sprint running beside the wall to get to the stash of supplies. 

Kane, the smart bastard, had the idea to have supplies spread out through the camp. It had helped numerous times, but now that they were being invaded? It might just save lives. For instance, John and Remy would be passing two stashes on their way to the fight and would be able to stock up on ammunition as well as medical supplies. 

There was one stash on the ground between Dagur and his men and where they were headed, so they too would be going into the fight with plentiful supplies. 

However, he had three men on top of the walls, six down, and two staying to help. His numbers were already dwindling. He couldn’t really afford to lose more men. If he did, they wouldn’t be much help once they got to the main gate. 

“Alright, the rest of you, with me.” 

  
  
  
  


They didn’t ever make it to the front gate. They met resistance about three-fourths of the way there and Dagur was shot in the initial ambush. He had foolishly overlooked the possibility of running into another league of enemies and had been moving far too fast. By the time he noticed the men, they were in the middle of the fight, and Dagur was already locked into the sights of a gun.

Despite his injury, he  _ insisted _ on moving forward or at the very least holding off this group so his men could advance, but his men, the  _ traitors _ , dragged him kicking and screaming away and held off the pursuers. They either feared too much for his life and didn’t want to risk losing him, or they simply didn’t have the courage to continue to the gates without him at their side. 

No matter their excuse, it was  _ treason _ . Their community needed them  _ desperately _ and here they were  _ retreating _ like  _ cowards _ . It made Dagur sick to even think about it. 

So he struggled and cursed his men up and down as they pulled him to safety. 

“Sir. I just don’t see us making it to the front gate. We’ve lost three more men and were separated from the three on top of the walls. It’s just us four left. W-we just can’t do it,” his men said sadly. 

Dagur paused, processing the words. These three other men and himself were really all that’s left of his squadron? He looked at each man’s defeated and decidedly sad postures. They’ve all just lost friends,  _ brothers _ . Dagur needed to think more carefully about the capabilities of his men. If they didn’t  _ want  _ to continue, then they wouldn’t. Or at least, they wouldn’t be fighting at their fullest for sure. 

“Alright. What do you suggest, men?” He asked, looking at them each in turn. They seemed to straighten under his gaze and he saw each and every one of them hide their fears and sadness under a mask of strength. 

“I think we should try for the rear gate,” one of his men, Simon, said. 

“Well I think we should tend to your wounds first, sir,” Mark said as he kneeled down and lifted Dagur’s shirt to see the damage. 

Dagur allowed it and looked to the third man. “What do you think, James?”

James, the youngest of the group, seemed stuck in time. This  _ was _ his first real battle and it was turning out quite terribly. Dagur and Mark were both in the Marines prior to the fuckfest that is their current world, and Simon used to be a SWAT member before transferring to become a federal agent due to his age. There were all used to being shot at and at killing others for the sake of their mission. 

James, however, was still in college when the world collapsed and hadn’t even had a proper job or girlfriend before normalcy changed into kill or be killed. 

“James?” Dagur prompted again and the poor kid jumped as if his hand had been caught in the candy jar. Dagur needed to pay closer attention to assure the kid didn’t space off or go into shock at the things he had just witnessed. 

“Um, I-I think we should escape. R-regroup with other units maybe and… I don’t know. We could even try and get to the other side of the wall and get to the front gate that way?” The boy said before dropping his eyes and scuffing his boot in the dirt as if embarrassed that he actually had input. 

“Alright. I agree. Let's try for the rear gate, regroup outside and advance to the front gate from there,” he said, looking down to see that his wound was now wrapped tightly in white bandages. He radioed the other group, notifying them of their change in plans. He nodded to Mark before standing and leading the men in the opposite direction. 

  
  
  
  


They had advanced to the rear gate a lot more carefully than they had the front gate and luckily ran into no more problems. 

The first thing that Dagur noticed upon seeing the rear gate was that it was  _ open _ and the dead were steadily trickling in. Dagur pulled his men to hide behind a nest of bushes and waited to see how they were going to get through the gate without firing a gun and attracting the hordes that usually rest outside of their walls. 

As they were discussing different options, Dagur heard the distinct sound of an engine. He shushed his men and ducked lower behind the bushes. Either this was reinforcements or it was more enemies. 

His hopes were smothered as he saw unfamiliar armed vehicles pull through the gate, men standing in the bed of trucks, assault rifles strapped to them. The trucks were accompanied by groups of the dead following diligently behind to try and get to the men standing in the back of the trucks. 

“Dagur, we should just wait for them to leave. They’ll attract the dead, too so we won’t have as much of a problem getting out,” James whispered, as he took in the scene before him. The poor kid was shaking, but Dagur couldn’t concern himself with that. 

No, his eyes were glued on a particular truck. It was an ugly brown color, with a scratch going down the driver’s side. 

Dagur never thought he would see that truck again. The windows were heavily tinted, so Dagur couldn’t make out the driver. Still, he already knew what he would be doing. 

“The man that has my sister is in that truck,” he says offhandedly, and his men listen in silence, trying to understand what that means for their plan. 

“Are we going to follow them, sir?” 

Dagur nods, his focus trained carefully on the truck, eyes straining as if he could determine who it was behind the dark windows. 

Just as Dagur stood to follow, James grabbed his wrist. “Wait! Sir,” he whispered harshly, his grip bruising as if he could force Dagur to stay. Dagur ignored him, watching as the vehicle that was believed to carry Ryker was heading towards the main part of the community along with a majority of their forces. A small group of men, however, were staying to guard the rear entrance. 

“T-they came in a rather large group with vehicles. W-we could instead track their tire marks back to their community! That’s where your sister most likely is anyways right?!” James said while tugging harshly on Dagur’s wrist as if demanding attention. “What good would it do you to kill him, anyway? She would still be abandoned with them at their camp! You should instead focus on finding their community so you can save her!” Dagur turned to look at James, sad to see tears in the boy’s eyes. He was quite obviously terrified, yet still trying to logically convince Dagur of what he believed to be the better plan. Or at least the  _ safer _ plan.

“Besides, if we just wait on John and his group, we’ll have eyes and more men to scout their community. Hell, we have a sniper, we could take out their leader as soon as he returns,” James said with a darker glint in his teary eyes. “It’d teach them not to mess with us or our safe haven.”

Dagur turned to him fully, taking one last glance at Ryker’s truck as it drove further and further away. 

Finally, he sighed and closed his eyes, deciding to give up on his wish for revenge. He could do that  _ after _ he had Heather back. And nothing would stand in his way. He would raze the entire  _ world _ just to ensure she was safe again. 

Fine. Instead of making their last stand here, they would leave and take the fight to  _ their _ home. The Grimborns  _ would  _ pay for what they have done to both this community  _ and _ to Heather. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least this one isn't as much of a cliffhanger!


End file.
